Craigroyston FC rely on goodwill of community member after latest vandal attack
The club have been targeted at their pitch at St Mark’s park for the third time in as many weeks by vandals.Graffiti has been strewn over the clubs dugouts, with the club saying that the criminals are accessing the enclosure through holes in the perimeter fence.Craigroyston have said that as lease holders they feel the council should have a responsibility to ensure that the facility is secured - which is a criteria that all clubs must abide by in the East of Scotland Conference A.The financial impact on the club having to continuously repaint their dugouts as well as to repair the pitch that is damaged by dog walkers and youths has been immense.Now David Love, 56, who was a former semi-professional player before his back gave way, has kindly come forward to donate CCTV for the club.David had spare CCTV equipment left over from an installation at his home and as a friend as well as fan of the club - he decided it was time to step up and help out.He said: “My old man used to run a club and I played semi-professional myself so I know how frustrating it must be them having to fork out for mindless vandalism.“I just wanted to try and help out - so I will be heading down and helping them install it. The only issue is trying to get wifi down there.“But to be honest the club needs the council to step up and secure the perimeter. This has been going on for far too long and I’ll be walking my dog up there to keep an eye out for the vandals from now on.”Sean Gardiner, the club chairman, had previously said that the club had invested over £10,000 on the facilities, with many at the club volunteering their time to maintain the pitch and premises, so it is disappointing to have the place strewn with litter, holes and graffiti.
Sean added: “The club is delighted that someone with as much community passion as us has volunteered to come on board and not only supply and fit a modern CCTV system but also to change his day to day routine and start exercising his dog in our area to increase the footfall watching over the place.“The kindness from David means the club will now be able to monitor the pitch enclosure live on an app and respond accordingly. Following the recent graffiti on our dug outs we were devastated to discover that youths had set a small fire inside one at the weekend, it’s just a constant battle and now with David’s help it’s one we hope to turn a corner with.”A City of Edinburgh Council spokesperson, said: “We’ve been made aware of the vandalism and our officers are looking into this.”