CRICKET club officials counting the cost of an early hours blaze believe youngsters had tried to blow up their storage hut with a gas canister.The fire which ripped through the property at Coronation Sports Ground has left the inside a complete mess - with a lot of work needing to be done on repairs.

CRICKET club officials counting the cost of an early hours blaze believe youngsters had tried to blow up their storage hut with a gas canister.

The fire which ripped through the property at Coronation Sports Ground has left the inside a complete mess - with a lot of work needing to be done on repairs.

Julian Gibbs, chairman of Felixstowe Corinthians Cricket Club, said a window had been broken and it appeared an attempt had been made to blow up the hut with a gas canister.

Mr Gibb said: “Luckily someone saw the fire and reported it to the fire brigade, who arrived very quickly.

“Although structurally the hut is OK, the whole interior is ruined and needs to be completely re-done, including the walls and floors, cupboards and the sink area.

“It is such a shame when our club is reaching out to the community and has had such success with over 100 juniors now involved with our youth training.”

Fixture secretary Graham Webb said: “We are always having problems and there is not much we can do about it because of the situation up there.

“As soon as we repair it, it gets damaged again. It is a real shame.”

The club use the rugby club's buildings nearby as changing rooms, but the shed is used on match days to make drinks and for people to sit and watch. It is used for storage of benches and other bits and pieces.

Mr Webb said: “We don't keep any equipment of any value in there because it is just not worth taking the risk.”

The blaze at the building at the ground in Mill Lane was spotted around 12.50am on Wednesday and firefighters from Felixstowe were on the scene within minutes.

They managed to stop the flames spreading to most of the hut, though a part of the back wall was damaged and it was left badly smoke-logged.

A police spokesman said the blaze was being treated as suspicious and appealed for anyone with information about the incident or who saw people tampering with the shed to contact Felixstowe police on 01473 613500.

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