VANDALS smashed their way in to Darwen Cricket Club and ‘trashed’ it before making off with loose change from charity boxes.

The crime scene was discovered yesterday morning by club members who had arrived at the club with the intention of cleaning up ahead of their AGM, which was scheduled to be held that evening.

They noticed that the metal shutters on the windows had been bent back and the front door had been destroyed.

Inside, the club had been ransacked and tills, pool tables and payphones broken into and stolen from.

Club secretary Colin Charnock said: “They’re the lowest of the low.

“We had two charity boxes on the bar, one collecting money for our Junior Cricket section and one for Cancer Research UK.

“I don’t know how much money was in them but they don’t hold that much.

“There was a television that they took off the wall but then left in the middle of the room and other things like alcohol, mp3 players and a defibrillator – all worth quite a bit of money – that they left behind. It just doesn’t make sense.

“They were obviously just looking for cold hard cash but they wouldn’t find much here – our tills are always emptied.”

Police attended the scene in Birch Hall at around 10am and believe that the break in occurred between 7.30pm on Sunday night and 8.30am yesterday morning.

They estimate that the perpetrators made off with around £23 in cash gathered from charity boxes, a payphone and a coin operated pool table.

Councillor Stephanie Brookfield arrived at the club to see the damage for herself.

She said: “It’s horrifying that people would steal from charity boxes and cause so much upset and damage for such a little amount.

“I think it’s a very sad sign of the times and unfortunately, with Christmas coming up, I can only see this types of incident rising.

“People are desperate for any money they can get but this is quite shocking.”

A police spokeswoman said: “We are investigating the break in and would appeal to anyone that may have noticed any suspicious activity in the area or similarly, if anyone has any other information they think could help to call us on 101.”