Football chairman fears intruders will return

A football club's chairman has said volunteers had to stand guard for three days after a group using about 20 caravans gained access to its sports field.

Nigel Armes, chairman of Thetford Town FC, said piles of litter were left strewn across five pitches after the break-in on 3 July.

He now fears the group, suspected to be travellers, will return and cause disruption to the club's activities.

They left the site off Mundford Road on Sunday and Norfolk Police said it was investigating whether any criminal damage was caused.

It is understood a gate between Breckland Leisure Centre and the football club was broken when the group gained access to the pitches.

Volunteers, including the club's coaches, guarded the first team's ground while the intruders were nearby.

"You put all the effort in for a group of maybe 60 or 70 people to just trash what you've done," Armes said.

"We always fear they will return and just create a site like it again."

The club spent about £5,000 reseeding the pitches, which it maintains and cuts weekly.

Members filled several trailers with rubbish left at the site during a day-long clean-up operation, including a car seat, cans and dirty nappies.

"It does feel pretty sickening getting a group of people just to destroy or trying to destroy what you've worked on all year," Armes added.

The incident also led to a Parkrun event at the leisure centre being cancelled.

Similar break-ins happened at Norwich Rugby Club and Wymondham Town FC in 2025.

Thetford Town is now considering the installation of height restriction barriers to make its site more secure.

A spokeswoman for Breckland Council said its enforcement agents had visited the site and served the intruders a notice, instructing them to leave.

Under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, trespassers who set up camp illegally could face up to three months in prison or a fine of up to £2,500.

A spokesman for Norfolk Police said officers "engaged with the individuals on site" in Thetford and were investigating a report of criminal damage.

Norfolk County Council manages two traveller sites - in Swaffham and King's Lynn - and says there is "considerable demand" for pitches.

Planning permission for a new site in West Dereham, Norfolk, was refused by King's Lynn and West Norfolk Borough Council in March 2025.

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