THIEVES smashed their way into a sports clubhouse, emptied the till and stole cash destined for charity.

Benfleet Cricket Club, in Woodside Park, Manor Road, Thundersley, was targeted by the thieves during the early hours of last Thursday morning.

Club bosses say they are committed to staying open, but are facing a clean-up operation.

Andy Jarrett, 55, club house manager and club captain, said: “The alarm firm contacted us and Essex Police.

“I went down there and found they had taken out a glass window and also gone through a steel shutter.

“The biggest loss to us is the cash taken.

“We’ve got a lot of cleaning up to do now.

“They also took a charity tin with money we were raising for Oddballs, the Testicular Cancer charity.

“It is clearly a targeted incident and is annoying for us.

“The fact they stole the charity money shows the type of people we are dealing with here.”

He said they also seemed to have avoided the CCTV cameras in the clubhouse.

He added: “We are angry and had to spend a lot of time on the phone dealing with this.

“There is stuff we’ve got to replace after the break-in and this time of year is quiet for us.

“We are planning for the season with what money we have and this hasn’t helped.”

The club bosses found the thieves left a mess behind with broken glass and bar equipment thrown around the building.

The sports club also took to Twitter to let players and fans know about the break-in.

A spokesman tweeted: “You never think it will happen to your club, but unfortunately ‘The Home of Good Cricket’ was broken into.

“Wildly frustrating, especially with the club’s charity jars being stolen.

“We battle on, and we aim to have the club back in shape as soon as possible.”

Other sports clubs sent well wishes of support.

A spokesman for Upminster Vets FC said: “Sad times.

“Lovely community club.

“Hope you are up and running very soon.”

Anyone with information should call police on 101.