ROWING club members spent Saturday planting 420 new Queen Jubilee tree saplings, only to discover on Monday that their boathouse had been broken into.
Ross Rowing Club was hit by terrible flooding in October 2019 followed by lockdown, and work has been ongoing rebuilding the clubhouse and facilities following the approval of a £75,000 Sport England Lottery grant.
But burglars broke in over the weekend and stole the tradesmen’s power tools and the club’s regatta radios.
A club spokesperson said: “Ross RC was broken into over the weekend.
“Power tools belonging to Camilleri tradesmen who are repairing the building were stolen.
“From the boathouse, Motorola radios are missing.
“Police and scene of crime officers have been on site and are investigating.
“Has anyone got any information? Has anyone been offered power tools or radios for sale?”
The break-in came after club members had rolled their sleeves up to help the environment by planting hundreds of saplings as part of a new wildlife hedgerow.
The club posted on Saturday: “The gardening crew planted 420 free trees from Woodland Trust in honour of the Queen's Jubilee.
“Elisabeth Angier put in an application for them last autumn.
“A mixture of native trees/hedges to enhance the camping field aesthetics and improve biodiversity.
“A mixture of native flowering and fruiting trees - blackthorn, hazel, willow, hawthorn, dogwood, Rowan, silver birch - should be pretty!
“A great morning in the sunshine delivering a Ross RC legacy.”
Elisabeth posted: “Job done! Awesome work from the team in the gorgeous spring sunshine!”
The junior squad first put forward the idea of greening the club’s activities, benefitting wildlife and reducing their carbon footprint from the use of power, launch engine fuel and petrol to get to events.