VANDALS who broke into the site of Melksham Town's new ground went on a joyride in a digger and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

The incident occurred overnight on Friday, October 30, between 5pm and 7.20am, after a gang of youths gained access to Woolmore Farm, Snowberry Lane by knocking down a perimeter fence.

Once on the site the suspects got into a digger by smashing the glass and went on a joyride through the grounds causing damage to vehicles and equipment.

Shaheen Jeewanjee, the site director for Beard Construction, said: “It was probably just kids messing around. They got into the digger and attempted to fill one of the machines.

“The damage they created was due to the fact that they did not know how to drive the digger. It was very minimal.

“They damaged the buckets and just drove around the site. They did not have the keys so they just smashed the window to get in.”

The cost of the damage has not yet been calculated but work was not disrupted by the break-in and Beard has increased safety measures by introducing a CCTV camera on the site.

Mr Jeewanjee added: “They just drove up and down on the ground works. We called the police straight away and all the damage is already repaired. The fence is already back up.”

Construction started on August 18 by Beard which is building the new clubhouse while sports ground contractors Kestrel are carrying out the ground modelling.

Work had previously been hampered after a colony of great crested newts were discovered at the site, bringing plans to a halt last April.

The facility, which costs just under £7million, is set to include a 256-seater stadium, club house, 11 football pitches and four rugby pitches, with Melksham Football Club and Melksham Rugby Club sharing the site.

Anyone with any information that could assist the investigation should call Melksham police via 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.