A MINDLESS attack by vandals at Okehampton Argyle Football Club this week caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage ? and threw the club?s financial and league plans into uncertainly.

The incident happened sometime between Sunday and Monday, when goal-nets, a line marking machine, line marker, wheelbarrow and tools plus other items were taken from the football club shed and set on fire in the stands.

And to add insult to injury, the pitchside dugouts have since been badly damaged in another attack at the Simmons Park ground.

The damage has raised a question mark over the financial future of the club.

Club chairman Colin Maddax said: ?To replace what we?ve had damaged is going to cost in the region of £750, which is money we can basically ill afford to lose ? we just can?t afford to spend out that sort of cash.

?We?ve been lucky until now, this is the first time we?ve been vandalised on this scale. Somebody is determined to cause us some real damage ? we?re just flummoxed at the moment.?

Mr Maddax said whoever carried out the latest attack at the football club had gone armed with a saw ? it was not a spur-of-the-moment incident.

?They?ve taken a side-post out of one of the dugouts ? they even attacked a tree there,? he said.

Club secretary Gordon Alexander said he was sickened by the incident and branded the vandals as ?mindless?.

He said: ?They?re just not humans. We?re trying to do something for the community and all they can think about is ruining it.

?I just feel so sick about it. They?ve certainly upset a lot of people, not just the players but the spectators too.?

Mr Alexander said the club has just applied to the Devon County League for promotion in an effort to encourage football in the town and improve the quality of the game.

?With all this damage now I don?t know if it?s going to be financially viable.

?It doesn?t just affect the committee that?s worked hard, it?s the players too. If we?d got into the county league we could have been drawing crowds of up to 200,? said Mr Alexander.

He said the club was desperately trying to get new equipment in time for games scheduled for this weekend ? but a league decision was also awaited as officially, the ground needs covered dugouts for officials and substitute players.

The club will face fines from the league if fixtures do not take place.

Okehampton Argyle?s first team plays in the Devon and Exeter League and is sponsored by the Okehampton Times. The club has a membership of approximately 300 and runs teams from the age of eight to 17, plus three adult sides.

Sgt Dave Anning, crime reduction officer for West Devon, said whoever caused the vandalism at the football club could face charges of arson and burglary.

?We are not talking about pranks ? if we catch the offenders they can expect to make a court appearance,? he said.

Sgt Anning said whoever committed the offences could have boasted about it to friends and he urged anyone with information or who had seen anyone armed with a saw in the Simmons Park area to call Okehampton Police or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. The crime reference number is JO/03/80.

?Calls to Crimestoppers are free and you won?t be asked your name or address ? you may even qualify for a cash reward which can be paid anonymously,? he said.