CHESTER FC Community Trust has expressed frustration after vandals damaged its King George V Sports Hub in Blacon at the weekend.

Staff at the sports hub discovered the damage on Saturday morning (June 15), which included electrical cable to the site’s newly installed vending machine being cut and gravel being thrown across the carpark and communal areas and arranged into unpleasant symbols.

The Hub’s management team are hoping that it will prove to be an isolated incident.

“We opened two years ago and we’ve not had any incidents of antisocial behaviour on the site in that time,” said Jim Green, CEO of Chester FC Community Trust.

“It’s a really positive asset to the community and lots of different people use it, not just football clubs but we have lots of other groups who benefit from the resource.”

An already busy day for the site, which hosts the Cheshire Girl’s League on Saturdays, was made more difficult with staff having to clear the areas ahead of dozens of scheduled games taking place.

Mr Green added: “It’s pretty mindless and very frustrating for us and the team that manage the site.

“The damage is repairable, but it’s time and money that we would much rather be able to spend on other things.”

The incident has been reported to Cheshire Police, who have said they will conduct additional evening patrols at the site.

Chester FC Community Trust say that plans are also in place to upgrade the CCTV system at Hub.

Police say the damage is believed to have occurred sometime between 6pm on Friday, June 14 and 9am on Saturday, June 15.

Enquiries are ongoing and anyone with any information is asked to call Cheshire Police on 101, or visit www.cheshire.police.uk/tell-us, quoting IML 1849782.