THIEVES are being hunted after tables and plant pots were stolen from a Basingstoke bowls club this week.

Members of the Basingstoke Town Bowling Club arrived at their base in Fairfields Road, on Monday morning to find that yobs had smashed plants, taken two plant pots, removed two hanging baskets that were screwed into the wall and had stolen eight wooden tables.

Members said they called the police on Monday morning but were told that because the club has no CCTV cameras, there was not much that could be done.

Vice president of the club, Joyce Cook, told The Gazette that the site has been vandalised five times during the last year, adding: “We had visitors for a game on Monday so we wanted to make sure it looked nice really nice.

"We had hanging baskets around the clubhouse which were screwed into the wall and two of them have completely disappeared.

“They have been wrenched from the wall. It is not young teenagers, these are people with strength. A couple of hanging baskets they couldn’t get right off so they have taken out the plants and we found the plants lying around but we have managed to save some of them”

The grandmother-of-three added: “The pots are full of soil and had been watered that night which means they are going to be quite heavy so they must have been going backwards and forwards, not far away or they had a vehicle ready.”

“There is a small core (of people) who have been looking after the upkeep during the winter and we have got to the summer season, when we are there, and then things like this happen.”

Police confirmed that they are investigating the incident and believe the items were stolen between 9pm on May 23 and 9am on May 25.

Anyone with information can call the police on 101 quoting reference 44150175673, or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.