Cricket club fire

A SUFFOLK cricket club pavilion has been destroyed after fire

swept through the wooden structure.

Fire crews from Leiston and Saxmundham were called to the Yoxford Cricket Club pavilion, in Old High Road, just before 2am on Saturday, but were unable to save the building.

Fire also swept to a neighbouring shed damaging about £500 of equipment.

Jonathan Trimby, groundsman of the club said the building was due to be pulled down on Sunday to make way for a new pavilion.

He said: "The ironic thing is we were demolishing it anyway but we didn't want to do it the way it's been done.

"The other shed has got equipment in it and luckily the fire brigade did a wonderful job and I must thank them.

"They cut their way through to lock to get in and stopped the shed burning down with our mowers in there."

A spokesman for the fire service said there were suspicious circumstances surrounding the blaze and police had been informed.

Mr Trimby, 66, said he believed there had been several arson attacks in the village recently.

He added: "The youngsters are restless. There have been two bins burnt out and a patch of grassland.

"This is the first time we have been targeted with fire but we had all the wheels punctured on all the nets and mobile frames which caused havoc as I had to take them off every day and put them on again."

Nets and covers were destroyed in the blaze and the club will now be forced to replace them.

Their insurance will not cover the cost and most of the club's money is to be ploughed into the new pavilion.

Mr Trimby added: "We have got a sport's grant for £25,000 and the rest of the money we have raised ourselves. We have also had county council grants and several others and we have £45,000 for the new building.

"We also need money for fitting out showers and we will have to fundraise for that.

"We have been trying to raise money for seven or eight years and were a very small club when we started."

The new pavilion is expected to be built by the end of May.