A community rugby club has been overwhelmed by their supporters' response following a break-in that has caused an estimated £5,000 of damage to their facilities.

Members of Yarm Community Rugby Club, which plays in nearby Eaglescliffe, were heartbroken to discover on Monday morning that their buildings had been broken into and electrical equipment, tools, bar stock and even floodlights were stolen.

In just two days the club's fundraising page has raised over £1,000 in donations to help cover the costs that are expected to fix the damage to their clubhouse and changing rooms.

On Sunday night (22 January) at around midnight a car arrived at the club's ground at Wass Way whose occupants forced the lock on the main gates before spending an hour breaking both external and internal doors at the team's clubhouse.

Founded in 1997 as a single men's team, Yarm Rugby Club has since grown to launch a junior section and a women's team who are currently competing in their first league season. However, with 9 teams running and only a single pitch to play on access to facilities at the club is one of their main limitations to growth.

Darlington and Stockton Times: One of the doors that was broken by thieves at Yarm Rugby Club.One of the doors that was broken by thieves at Yarm Rugby Club. (Image: Yarm Rugby Club)

Club Chairman Dave Jones said: "The club has been saving for some time to build extra catering and toilet facilities for the use of the junior section and to allow us to launch girls' rugby which we currently can't cater for.

"For what has been a great season so far on the pitch, off the pitch has been a different story. As with most households and businesses the cost of living and our trading costs have risen massively this year," he says, "with power, pitch hire and consumables massively increasing.

"That has made the recent break in harder to take," he adds.

As for the response from the club's supporters, Dave is ecstatic.

"We are thrilled by the positive response to the gofundme campaign and all of the messages we've been receiving from the rugby community, it's a real testament to the sense of family in the sport of rugby."

People can support the club's fundraising efforts at this link.

Both Cleveland Police and the RFU were asked to comment for this story.