Tennis club plagued by burglaries
Members of the Stella tennis club are in a constant state of fear after numerous burglaries have left their tennis clubhouse empty.
THE chairperson of Stella Tennis Club, Barry Bailey says they are at their wits’ end after the clubhouse was broken into for the third time in the space of two months. The tennis club celebrated its 100th birthday this year, but Bailey said that over the past few years the location has become less secure. “For years now we have played here twice a week, but over the past four years there has been a drastic rise of crime in this area,” he said.
The first time the tennis clubhouse was hit the storage room was broken into. “They knocked down the door with a wooden plank and we really didn’t think there was anything of value in there, just some old stuff nothing we use regularly. There was a basin with a tap and that is what they took, they stripped the tap and the pipes,” said Bailey.
Bailey quickly replaced the pipe and the door, “I replaced the pipe so that the members could have water facilities and I then glued the door back so that it was re-sealed.”
These efforts from Bailey were not enough however, a week later they broke into the clubhouse again. “The second time they broke the burglar guards on the windows to get back inside. They then broke into our pantry where we keep basic food items and stole our cutlery and milk supply,” he said.
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Bailey and the members of Stella Tennis Club were beginning to feel extremely unsafe. “We started to feel like we were being watched because we aren’t the only tennis players who use these facilities and there’s almost always someone here on any given day but the criminals would always know when to strike and when we weren’t around,” said Bailey.
A few weeks after the second incident they were burgled again, “When they broke in this most recent time, they went for the pipes in the main bathroom. Again they stole the tap and they also stripped the toilet for parts,” said Bailey.
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Bailey said they have given up reporting the thefts to the police because they have no idea who the criminals are, “We have very little to go off and we don’t have much evidence to give to the police,” said Bailey.
Bailey theorises that the criminals are selling the stolen goods to scrap metal dealers, “The theft of metal items such as taps and pipes is as a result of the thieves being able to sell the stolen goods to scrap metal dealers, who are also part of the crime cycle.”
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