A POWYS football club has been hit yet again by vandals – resulting in them putting out a plea asking for them to stop.

Builth Wells Football Club has been targeted by youngsters, who congregate in the club’s 100-seater Lant Field stand after school or during bouts of wet weather.

The latest incident – the third time in less than three years the club has been hit – involved youngsters writing obscenities and drawing crass graffiti on the stand’s walls in blue and red paint or lipstick.

CCTV footage from January also showed youngsters covering up the camera lens so they would not be recorded.

The club has been plagued by vandalism in recent years, including seating being damaged, and this latest spate follows similar distasteful incidents that occurred in June 2021 and March last year.

“We'd like to put out a reminder that there is 24-hour security at the club, thanks to CR Security LTD,” the club said in a statement released this week across its social media platforms.

“Recent vandalism to our seating area, including graffiti on the walls and cameras, has been caught by the CCTV system and will be dealt with accordingly.

“The club, committee and other volunteering members work tirelessly to try and provide a good and comfortable environment for our spectators, which is being dampened by a select few individuals.

“Please, be better.”

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Dyfed Powys Police has been in contact with the club about the most recent matter.

Plastic seats in the stand were originally damaged in June 2021, leading to police involvement.

That incident had been linked to an antisocial element sweeping the town in general at the time.

One seat was completely decimated while several others had cracks or chips in them.

The club then took a slightly different approach when the same thing happened last March; asking youngsters who congregate in the stand with their friends or shelter under it during bad weather to respect it and the club.

The vandalism comes at a pivotal time for the Bulls off the field too. All amateur football clubs in the Football Association of Wales (FAW) pyramid system must apply each season to retain or upgrade their league status, which requires their facilities to be up to a certain standard.

County Times:  Builth Wells' Lant Field home. Builth Wells' Lant Field home.

Tier 3 clubs – which includes Builth – must have everything in place by April 30.

“We understand that this is a nice dry place for people to meet up and socialise with their friends, but please be aware that we do have CCTV and know who is responsible for this damage,” the club had said previously.

“We may contact those responsible if this continues. Please respect our club’s facilities and the community that they serve to ensure we don't lose them.

“We don’t really want to blow things out of proportion as a club but it’s so annoying when we’re working hard on and off the field to take Builth places, yet some people are undermining the hard work.

“The worst thing is, clearly, it’s local people treating the place like this.”