VANDALS went on the rampage at Wrexham Rugby Club last weekend, causing more than £20,000 of damage.
When club official Nigel Fletcher arrived at the club in Bryn Estyn Lane on Saturday morning, he was shocked to find the premises ransacked.
Fixtures and fittings in both the downstairs bar and upstairs function rooms had been smashed, with trophy cabinets and TV sets wrecked.
Large plate-glass windows were broken and beer pumps in the upstairs bar had been left on, causing the ceiling below to collapse.
Shattered glass and shards of broken bottles were found strewn across the floor.
The only rooms to emerge unscathed were the privately-run gym and the office of Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) North Wales officer Austin Thomas.
Volunteers managed to clear the upstairs room so the club could host Saturday afternoon visitors Dolgellau, but club officials have appealed for help in tidying the rest of the premises.
'There was a real Dunkirk spirit about the place as everyone mucked in to help,' said club spokesman Chris Kilfoyle.
'One of our committee members' wives provided a buffet for the Dolgellau game because the kitchen was out of action and the beer pumps had been destroyed, so everybody pitched in.
'We will be boarding up more of the club this week because, even though we have had a clean up, the place is still in an awful state. Whoever did it used a hell of a lot of force.'
The cash-strapped club recently announced talks were being held with potential developers and the North East Wales Institute (NEWI) over the future use of the large site, as the clubhouse is considered too large for the rugby club alone.
Chairman Stan Edwards added: 'We must restructure and this setback will not deter us.'
