WINSFORD United’s Barton Stadium is currently the ‘most secure’ it has ever been thanks to community donations following recent break-ins.

The home of Winsford United Football Club, in Wharton Road, was broken into twice in May this year, with thieves stealing spirits from behind the bar and on another occasion smashing up the clubhouse.

At the time, club secretary Bob Astles told the Guardian that the financial damage that the break-ins had caused were ‘disastrous’ to the club and appealed to Winsford businesses to help.

After Bob’s appeal, one Winsford woman, decided to set up a GoFundMe page and managed to raise £500 to help towards repairs and security.

Carolynn Rowntree, from Hill Street, said: “I live nearby, actually in eyesight of the stadium and I just wanted to show how we can come together as a community and help. Problems like these happen sometimes but they can be solved quite easily by getting together and raising the money needed. There is always a solution.

“A lot of people were commenting on the Guardian’s story on Facebook at the time with a lot of anger about what had happened. I thought there are so many people voicing their feelings about it that we need to act now and harness that feeling into raising money.

“It just shows the town what can be achieved when we help each other and work together. If we want something, we can raise the money ourselves and make it happen.”

Members of the community chipped in to meet the target as well as businesses including Cornerstone Inns, Vale Royal Kitchens and Rose Recruitments.

Bob now says the club is the most secure it has ever been after installing CCTV and new doors and windows at the stadium.

He said: “We’ve had to spend a small fortune this summer on repairs and the CCTV but we are the most secure we’ve ever been. The club can be monitored from anywhere by club officials and the police.

“There are still things to do with the ground like painting and maintenance after the vandalism but we’ve got a lot done now and the donations we’ve received have been invaluable.

“For a non-league club, in the summer, we have a lot of expense and not a lot of income, so when you get donations like this from the community, it just helps keep our heads above the water.

“We are very grateful to the lady that set it up. It’s really quite a surprise that somebody who’s not directly involved with the club has decided that we deserve some help, and I think we probably do.”