A BANK Holiday break-in has left Otley Rugby Club £2,300 out of pocket - and facing a £15,000 repair bill.

An intruder or intruders entered the clubhouse, at Cross Green, between 5.45pm on Sunday, May 1 and 10.10am on Monday, May 2.

They proceeded to ransack the place by ripping and kicking doors open, overturning TVs, emptying out filing cabinets and forcing open cash tills.

The club had just enjoyed a bumper weekend of activities which included all kinds of Tour de Yorkshire related family-friendly fun on Saturday, April 30, followed by an evening match.

Then on the Sunday it had held an end-of-season barbecue for its Junior section.

Club Chairman Nick Girling hoped the proceeds would provide a major boost to its bid to raise £150,000* for a list of long-needed improvements.

Instead, he has been left counting the cost of a particularly damaging burglary.

He said: "Whoever did it seemed determined to search absolutely everywhere for the money.

"This is so disappointing because we're in the middle of a big refurbishment project to build toilets for our Junior section, at Pool Road, and improve the facilities at Cross Green.

"We're well on our way towards the total we need but this has put a big dent in it.

"We'd just had a huge day on Saturday when we put a lot of things on for the Tour de Yorkshire, and then had a local derby match against Harrogate in the evening, too.

"Then on the Sunday we were open again for the Zebras' end of season barbecue.

"Thankfully, we'd banked most of the takings, which were all going towards our refurbishment.

"They did get £2,300 in cash, though, and smashed up a couple of safes along with every cupboard they could find in the place and every locked door."

The club has posted a message about the break-in on its website at pitchero.com/clubs/otley .

It says: "About 20 volunteers worked really hard for weeks to put on an event - on Saturday - that showcased what we can do as an event centre for our community, and it was a fantastic day and night.

"On Sunday night some people forced their way into the club, smashed the place up, caused thousands and thousands of pounds worth of damage and helped themselves to whatever they could.

"If you hear anything about this please report it to the police. This is a set-back but it will not deter us with our project."

West Yorkshire Police has inspected the scene and carried out a search for fingerprints.

They believe the intruders gained entry by ripping a locked side door off its hinges.

A police spokesman said: "If anybody has witnessed anything or has any information that could assist they are asked to call the Outer North West NPT via 101, quoting crime reference number 13160186835."

Mr Girling added: "We're pretty sure this was someone who has seen what we were up to over the weekend.

"They've only taken what they could carry, which was cash, and haven't touched the drink behind the bar, club trophies or anything else.

"They have jemmied the tills, smashed up and ripped the doors off and overturned everything - we're looking at a substantial repair bill."

*Donations in support of the club's refurbishment project can be made at crowdfunding.justgiving.com/otleyrugbyclub .