Arsonists have almost destroyed £6,000 worth of equipment belonging to an archery club forcing it to question its future.
The chairman of the Ivanhoe Archery Club, in Ashby, spoke out after a fire was started overnight inside one of its storage containers in Ashby.
Stephen Colledge said he was devastated by the fire inside one of two storage containers at Ivanhoe College, in North Street.
Mr Colledge said: "This is terrible news. We have lost a lot of our equipment, maybe up to £6,000 worth, and it could put us out of existence.
"Things were going so well for us as a club but this has stopped us in our tracks. There was a lot of equipment in there. There were targets in there, show tents and about 25 bows used for beginners and for younger members."
Mr Colledge said he was called this morning by a member of staff at the school who arrived to see smoke coming from a container which had been broken into.
His wife Claire, who is secretary at the club, went to the scene of the arson attack earlier this morning, Tuesday, August 15.
She said: "This is heartbreaking for everyone at the club. The container has been broken into and equipment inside torched. It looks as if whoever did this also tried to get into the other container but failed.
"This will be a hard blow to take. We are gutted. We will have to have a committee meeting and see where we go from here."
Firefighters from Ashby were called out at 8.28am today, Tuesday, August 15
A fire service spokesman said: "A fire crew from Ashby used two breathing apparatus to tackle the fire in the container."
A police spokeswoman said they were called by the fire service at 8.50am to a report of a fire in a container in North Street, Ashby.
She said: "Enquiries into the circumstances surrounding the incident are in the early stages. Enquiries into the circumstances surrounding the incident are in the early stages. There are no reports of anyone being injured."
The club has 76 members ranging in ages from eight to 75. Two weekends ago it hosted the county outdoor championship at the school.
This article first appeared in our sister title, the Leicester Mercury.
