BOSSES at a football venue have hit out after revealing tens of thousands of pounds have had to be spent repairing damage caused by vandalism.

Barrow football venue Pulse Soccer has spoken of their frustration after the site was once again targeted by ‘mindless’ vandals over Bank Holiday weekend.

Trespassers have flipped over goalposts, smashed glass and bins, ripped sanitising stations off the wall and kicked in boards, leading venue bosses to consider implementing security measures.

Tasha Pearson, duty manager at Pulse Soccer, described the spate of vandalism as ‘demoralising’.

“It’s a mixture of youths and adults that are doing this,” she said.

“We had adults smashing beer bottles all over the venue and youths doing the same - it’s not just kids doing this.

“Over lockdown, the spot was heaving with people, especially during the warmer weather.

“We had a lot of damage before we properly reopened on April 12 and actually spent between £15,000 and £20,000 on repairs.

“We had to replace the broken goal posts and ripped fences.

“Then we came in after Bank Holiday weekend and saw loads more damage.

“It’s now becoming a regular issue. We’re close to the triple figures with how much we’ve spent on repairing damage caused by vandalism.”

Ms Pearson described the ongoing vandalism as ‘very frustrating’ for the staff and users of the venue.

She said: “It’s very frustrating - we’ve just managed to get the spot open. A lot of hard work and effort has gone into this. It’s very demoralising.”

Security cameras may be used to curb any further incidents of vandalism in the future.

Ms Pearson said: “We’re looking at getting CCTV cameras installed to identify the people causing these issues.

“At least that way we would know who it is and can take steps to prevent it and ban them from the centre. We’ve also asked Barrow Police to do more to support us and patrol the area.

“We’ve just got to find a way through. Over the past five years, the issues started off small and have have got a lot worse.

“It’s just such a shame because we have a great community here and people are ruining it for other people who genuinely want to use the centre.”

Ms Pearson is urging the public to treat the venue with respect.

“If you’re going to use the centre, please treat it with respect,” she said.

“This is people’s jobs and livelihood - it benefits the whole community. We’re sick of paying for all these repairs which is coming out of the budget that should be spent on projects.”