Burglars targeted Leeds cricket club

James Boswell and James Hadley caused £500 worth of damage after forcing their way in to Kirkstall Educational Cricket Club in the targeted attack last July.

They also stole copper piping. The raid was the last in a long series of break-ins which has threatened the future of the 160 year old club. Boswell and Hadley were seen leaving the club and getting into a white van. They then broke into an industrial unit nearby and stole £10,000 worth of tyres. They also tried to break into business premises in Armley.

Boswell, 25, of Mary Street, Bradford, and Hadley, 32, of Stratford Street, Beeston, Leeds, pleaded guilty to two offences of burglary and one of attempted burglary. Hadley was given a 19 month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to take part in a drug rehabilitation programme.

Boswell was given an 18 month sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 140 hours unpaid work.

The YEP reported in 2014 how Kirkstall Educational suffered 10 break-ins during its 160th anniversary year.

They had racked up losses and damages amounting to about £10,000. Formed in 1853, the club is 10 years older than Yorkshire County Cricket Club and has more than 200 members, with three senior teams and seven junior teams. The clubhouse, off Queenswood Drive, was first broken into when thieves smashed a window and stole a television and spirits from the bar. On another occasion £700 raised at a memorial bash for 21-year-old Tom Hardman - the former Leeds Metropolitan University cricket captain who died in 2012 - was taken.