Vandals Cause Thousands of Pounds Worth of Damage At An Aird. | |
05 March 2009 Fort William Shinty Club has been rocked after vandals caused thousands of pounds worth of damage at their Highland Council owned An Aird pitch. Seats in the stand were ripped out and damaged and a trail of smashed bottles were left around the pitch and stand in what police suspect was an alcohol related incident. A similar incident took place ahead of the 2008 Camanachd Cup Final at An Aird when seats were damaged. Police are confident of catching the culprits through finger prints and DNA evidence and they have also found a schoolbag in the vicinity. Speaking in this week's Strathspey & Badenoch Herald, local councillor Donald Cameron said "This can only be described as an orgy of wantin vandalism. Given the number of broken bottles and the extent of the damage to the stand, it must have involved a large number of people. Of late, a lot of effort has been put in to improve the park. The ground staff are carrying out work to the surface and I have every confidence that the pitch will be in top condition for the club's first home fixtures. Council officials are chasing up sources of funding to carry out improvements to the stand. That's why this is sickening for a lot of people who have put time and effort in to providing facilities only to have their work undermined bt mindless moroons." Fort William's first three matches have been scheduled away from An Aird as repairs to the pitch have been taking place. The Forts first scheduled home match is their MacTavish Cup first round tie with Skye Camanachd on Saturday 28 March 2009. If An Aird remains unplayable, then the tie could be switch to Pairc nan Laoch, Portree.
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