Bargoed Rugby Club has condemned vandals after one of their stands was set on fire.
The new stand at Bargoed Park is believed to have been set alight on the morning of Wednesday February 22.
The club was rejected entry to the Principality Premiership in 2015 due to not having the relevant license, but won promotion from the Championship last year and have since upgraded their facilities to meet Welsh Rugby Union standards.
Bargoed’s club chairman, Neil Carter, said he was saddened and angry at the mindless act: “We’ve invested tens of thousands of pounds in facilities at Bargoed Park as part of our participation in Premiership rugby and I despair at the mentality of some people who think it’s acceptable to destroy sporting facilities in this way.
“We were lucky that an alert citizen spotted it and rang the fire service before it took hold.
“It’s not the first time we’ve had problems – a few weeks ago we had to contend with broken bottles on the field some of which had been buried with jagged edges facing upwards and if we hadn’t located and removed them, the injuries that could have been inflicted makes me shudder just to think about it.
“We also have a continuing problem with motorbikes and quad bikes being driven across the pitches. It’s a broad pattern of anti-social behaviour that has to be confronted.”
The club say they will be seeking “urgent discussions” with Gwent Police and Caerphilly County Borough Council about security at Bargoed Park, and their concerns extend to other users of Bargoed Park.
Mr Carter continued: “We are a community club and have over 170 youngsters playing regularly from under-7s to under-16, as well as the two senior teams and a youth XV.
“We want to ensure that the facilities are amongst the best in the county and the club is spending its own money to deliver that and sharing it with other organisations in the process.
“I appeal to the community to help us deal with these problems and come forward with information which might lead to these idiots being caught and dealt with.”
A spokeswoman for South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: “A crew from Aberbargoed attended a deliberately set fire at Moorland Road, Bargoed on Wednesday. No one was hurt, and the case has since been handed over to Gwent Police.”
We have three groups of enforcement patrolling from the PC’s CSO and wardens and not one of these groups who are suppose to be patrolling, prevented or caught these individuals. It makes you think why we are spending money on wardens and CSO when this money could be better spent employing more police
We need more Police Officers and we need them patrolling our communities on foot – to help prevent incidents like this