Billingham Juniors FC clubhouse destroyed by blaze

Volunteers at the club say they are trying to stay positive amid the devastation

The clubhouse of a junior football club has been destroyed in a second suspected arson attack in less than a year.

Billingham Juniors, which is home to 170 young players, was about to start restoration work on the building which was badly damaged in June.

The latest attack has left the Teesside building's walls in danger of collapsing.

Chairman Lee Shackleton described the damage as "sickening and deflating".

He was woken in the early hours of Sunday morning by a phone call from Stockton Borough Council saying there were three fire engines at the ground.

"It's really tough trying to keep all the positivity, I feel like I have to get through the first few days," he said.

"I'm here as a volunteer with a goal of helping kids play in a safe environment and we need to make the site more secure before we start rebuilding."

The clubhouse has been cordoned off after the blaze left it structurally unsafe

Cleveland Fire Service said there was "no sign of forced entry" at the site but as the clubhouse building is structurally unsafe, it has been unable to assess how it started.

An investigation is under way by Cleveland Police.

Last year the local community rallied and raised more than £11,000 to help fund restoration works.

Mr Shackleton said it was "lucky the money hadn't been spent."

Volunteers says they want to build a more secure site for future generations of footballers

Billingham Juniors played their matches at the Village Ground on Wolviston Back Lane yesterday as normal and the club is hoping to start two new teams of young players at the beginning of May.

"We need to make a bigger, better, stronger and more secure site so this doesn't happen again - it's going to have to be built now for generations to come," said Mr Shackleton.

"We will not allow this to stop us delivering many hours of training sessions and matches from safe environments weekly."