A POPULAR community facility has suffered extensive water damage after thieves stole lead from the roof during the lockdown.

Volunteers running the Bocking Village Club admit they have been left devastated by the theft and have no timeframe for when repairs will be carried out.

It is not known when the lead was stolen as the village club, based in Church Street, has been closed since the national lockdown in November.

Volunteer Margaret Surrey said: “They took a very large piece of lead at the front of the building.

“It damaged a pipe when it was ripped off and once that pipe filled up and became blocked, the water just started pouring into the building.

“There’s a considerable amount of damage inside - it’s horrendous.

“The water has soaked the walls, carpet and flooring which will all need to be replaced.

“We have someone going into the club everyday but no one noticed what had happened until we had torrential rain a few weeks ago.

“We are speaking with our insurers about it but will obviously have to pay the excess.

“It’s going to take a lot of time and cost to repair the damage.”

The club says short-term repairs have been carried out to stop anymore water getting inside.

A dehumidifier will be needed to remove the damp inside the building before repair work can begin.

With the Braintree district now in a lockdown, the volunteers running the club admit they are unlikely to reopen anytime soon.

But they say the theft has been ‘soul-destroying’ for them and is another setback in an already difficult year.

Mrs Surrey said: “Like a lot of places, we couldn’t afford to open and serve food after the lockdown so we stayed shut.

“We are losing money and have had to furlough staff like everyone else.

“The club is managed purely by volunteers who have put a lot of hard work and effort into keeping everything going this year.

“This is a real knock back for us on top of everything else going on.”

Mrs Surrey added: “The police know very little at this stage because we don’t know when it happened.

“It’s the second time lead has been stolen from the roof so it could well be the same people.

“We have got CCTV but they managed to avoid it because nothing has shown up. I doubt they will get caught but if anyone saw anything suspicious, we want to hear from them.”

Email secretary@bockingvillageclub.org.