Thousands of pounds-worth of equipment stolen from Eastbourne croquet club after break-in

Thieves smashed their way into the Compton Croquet Club premises in The Saffrons on Sunday night (June 9) and took equipment worth thousands of pounds.

The club’s machinery shed was broken into and various lawn maintenance equipment – including a top of the range lawn mower, a sit on lawn mower, an aerator and various other pieces of equipment – to a value well in excess of ten thousand pounds was taken.

A spokesperson for the club said, “This was clearly a well targeted raid, with the perpetrators knowing exactly what they were looking for. They only took the expensive equipment, while ignoring the machinery of little or no value.”

But this is not the first time the croquet club has been targeted this year.

In February the spokesperson said, “Local yobs thought it clever to smash a window and do three thousand pounds worth of damage.”

The Croquet Lawns at the Saffrons are described as amongst the best in the country, and the Golf Croquet World Championships are being held there from July 27 until August 3.

Anyone with any information about the thefts should contact police online or call 101.