THE theft of two lawn mowers from Martley Cricket Club has come at the "worse" possible time, says its chairman.

The mowers, which were used for cutting grass very finely for the wickets, were stolen from the club's storage shed with only a week before the new season starts, leaving the club having to borrow other mowers from surrounding clubs and gardeners.

Patrick Bibby, chairman of the club, said: "This is the first break-in we've had for about 40 years, and it's a real pain.

"They are wicket mowers, and give the grass a very fine cut, so they're not the usual mowers. To replace them brand new would cost around £2,000, which is such a lot of money.

"At the moment we are having to borrow mowers from surrounding clubs, which is a hassle, as we have to cut the grass every week ahead of matches. Having to do that is so inconvenient for everybody."

The theft will also have a big effect on the finances, as money that has been raised by fundraising events to fund new equipment and coaching courses will have to be used to replace them, if they are not recovered.

Mr Biddy said: "The theft of the mowers has had a big effect. It's not ideal preparation before the season starts, but also, everyone connected with the club has been fundraising for some time so we could invest in coaching opportunities and better equipment, but now, if the worse comes to the worse and they're not recovered, that money will have to be used to replace the mowers, so it puts us right back to square one.

"The whole thing is a real pain, and has come at the worse possible time."

Martley Parish Council has extended an olive branch to relieve the club's woes, however.

Janet Dale, clerk of the parish council, said: "The parish council can help if it's necessary but nothing has been planned so far."

Police confirmed the incident happened between 3pm on Tuesday, April 7 and 12am on Friday, April 10.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting incident number 0217S 100415.

The club's first match of the season gets underway Saturday, April 25, for the visit of Kempsey.