THIEVES have tried to steal an entire football pitch from a Camden Town community centre.

Castlehaven Community Centre, in Castle Road, has spent £100,000 laying an artificial turf pitch on a tarmacked play area. It is part of the centre’s attempts to find new revenue in the face of swingeing government cuts.

But as the laying of the hi-tech surface was nearing completion this week, a gang clambered over a 10ft fence and spent a night hacking sections of the new artificial turf up in a flagrant attempt to steal it. As well as using the pitch for its youth activities, the centre hopes to hire it out to adult football teams to raise new funds. 

The thieves were foiled, partly due to the sheer weight of the plastic turf, community centre workers believe.

Centre director Eleanor Botwright said: “For a long time we have been trying to find ways to survive all the cuts we are facing. We were told by a business development manager, who came in to help us, that a new pitch could be a key way of bringing in fresh revenue.

“Someone has come in overnight and tried to steal it. Thankfully, the carpets were too heavy to lift back over the fence so they have just caused a real amount of damage. They started cutting garden-sized segments out and then rolling them up.”

It is not the first time the community centre has been targeted. Around eight years ago, thieves using pneumatic drills removed an entire under-fives playground.