A beloved community football club has launched a fundraising page after their ground was the subject of a suspected arson attack.

Trevor Wing, chief executive of Thornaby Football Club, has launched a fundraiser on behalf of the club after large parts of Teesdale Park were destroyed yesterday morning (Monday, June 26).

A stand, disabled area, electronic equipment, gardening tools, a tractor, seats, and goals were destroyed in the blaze.

Mr Wing said everyone at the club was "devastated" and called on the community to come together to support Thornaby Football Club.

Read more: Devastation after Thornaby Football Club destroyed by fire

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In a statement on GoFundMe, he said: "As a Club, we are devastated. As a community, we have to come together. As a society, this cannot be acceptable.

"At 5.30am on Monday, June 26 we received a phone call from the police that Teesdale Park had been attacked by arsonists.

"Five fire engines attended the blaze from 3.40am to 6.30am. Thanks for their efforts.

"Not sure where we go from here. Not sure what’s next. Not sure what the future holds.

"We pride ourselves on the improvements that have been made to Teesdale Park by our team of supremely talented volunteers and their efforts have been decimated.

"We appreciate that everyone is feeling the pinch in these times but any donation will be gratefully received and used in its entirety to keep Teesdale Park for football.

"Our club needs help to continue, it’s as simple as that."

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The Northern Echo:

He added donations would be used to replace goalposts, get electrical repairs, roof repairs, office space, computers and many thousands of pounds of volunteer tools, mowers, tractor and other items.

He estimated the club had suffered a total loss of about £130,000 due to the fire.

He said the £35,000 goal set by the fundraiser will help the club replace the "necessities" which they have lost.

Speaking to The Northern Echo, he said: "I came straight down and couldn't believe what I saw. Just devastation, [the] whole of one side of the clubhouse was all burned down.

The Northern Echo:

"My office [was] in there, the cabin where we had all the tools was devastated, the tractor was all burnt, the garden equipment, all the hedge trimmers and everything else, burned and gone.

"It's just heartbreaking considering all the years we've put in. We're just all devastated here.

"It's just a kick in the teeth when you've been here this many years and you volunteer to do it, we all put our hand in our pocket every single week, they come and do this.

"They're not going to beat us, we're not going to let them. A bit like the phoenix, we rise from the ashes."

Pictures from the scene showed the devastation caused by the fire with parts of the ground destroyed by the blaze.

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Drone footage of the area showed the blackened stand and buildings in the aftermath of the incident.

The fundraiser had raised £1,400 at the time of writing.

You can find the fundraiser here.