A Radnorshire football club said it felt like an “attack” against the town’s community when its goal nets were set on fire in a late night act of vandalism.

A grounds workman found the badly damaged netting on Tuesday morning - it has been reported to Dyfed-Powys Police.

The melted nylon coated the grass around the goal following the blaze which is thought to have taken place at around 12.30am last Tuesday, October 26.

Llandrindod Wells FC Chairman Geraint Davies told The Brecon & Radnor Express that one of the football club’s neighbours had spotted the blaze, saying it shone like a Christmas tree.

“We got a call from someone who was doing some groundwork and he said ‘it looks like the goal posts have been set on fire’ so I got in my car and drove to the pitch and I was over there you could see all the nets had melted - it wasn’t the actual posts, but the nets”.

Mr Davies, who said the goal nets are tied up and assembled around the posts rather than put away after a game, said: “I went up there and another gentleman from Lant Avenue came over and said that it had happened at about 12.30am on Monday night.

“He said he thought it was a Christmas tree and then a fire engine turned up although it had gone out by then. We found about it on Tuesday morning.”

The chairman, who has been a coach for the football club for around 18 years, said they’d had to reschedule a match with Hay St Mary’s FC as a result of the damage.

He said:” There was that much molten net - because the nets are like nylon, they were all molten and all on the goal mouth so we had to try to clear that up, but we didn’t have enough manpower so we had to call that game off for that night.”

Mr Davies, who lives with his family in Howey, said they have now cleaned the old melted nets up and installed new nets on the goal.

Mr Davies has thanked both Builth FC and Hay FC who both offered to spare nets to the Llandrindod club based on Lant Avenue until they were able to source replacements.

He said: “My assumption is they put accelerant on the nets and just let them go on fire because the nets would have been too wet to go [on fire] on their own. Both of them offered to loan us nets until we sourced new ones which was very nice. Two rival teams offering support - it’s good football spirits.”

The football club, which has more than 200 junior and senior members, has also received an incredible community response via donations to a Just Giving page.

When asked about the club’s reaction to the vandalism, Mr Davies said: “It hurts - not because of the financial cost although that does hurt but we can overcome that and we’ve had a Just Giving page and it’s accumulated enough funds for the nets plus some so that was a really excellent response from the community.

“It just made me realise that everybody in the town really has a direct connection to the football club whether they know it or not because they’ve got grandchildren, they play themselves or their sons are playing. When you break it down, everybody’s got a direct connection to the football club whether they like it or not, it’s like a hub for the community and it was like a direct attack on the community, that’s how I felt as a volunteer and we’ve got volunteers throughout the club and we do all this for the community - they may not realise they’re doing it for the community but they are.

“We’ve got 250 junior member and senior members who play football - everyone’s involved in football club at some point in their life and to me that was like an attack on the community of Llandrindod. A lot of our committee members were hurt by the actions because, you know, it’s damning to the club and it’s a pointless thing.

“There’s no gain from criminal activity like that - it’s crazy and we were all pretty hurt, that’s all. We all put a lot of time in, we probably put about 15 hours a week in voluntarily and when this gets damaged that’s where it hurts - it’s not the financial thing, it’s the community thing you know - that’s what hurt us because it’s an attack on the Llandrindod people.

“There’s other stuff going on in town as well, I think there’s a spate of silly going-ons so I don’t think it was a targeted attack, I just think it was a case of “we’ll do this one now and then we’ll this somewhere else and this somewhere else” and things like that.”

Mr Davies said the football club was stunned when they started to see the donations towards the nets build on their Just Giving page which was started to help contribute towards the cost of the netting.

So far the Just Giving page has raised £450 which is 300 per cent of its £150 goal which the club hoped would pay for half of the cost of the football nets.

Llandrindod Wells FC took to Twitter to thank donors saying: “We are truly overwhelmed by the generosity of donations to our Just Giving page and to the individual donations sent directly to the club.

“A huge thank you to each and everyone of you, we are so very grateful. Thanks to Builth Wells FC and Hay St Mary’s FC for the offer of some nets too.”

Mr Davies, who said he didn’t expect the reaction as there’s “more things going on that football nets” said he feels it shows the strength of the community in the town.

He said: “The money started coming in and the comments started coming it was like “wow, it is quite a powerful thing that has happened” and it just shows, the community - we were getting donations from people we didn’t know had a connection with the club and it brings the community together a bit and it’s really good.”

Dyfed-Powys Police took to social media to reassure residents that their officers had met with officers from Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service in Llandrindod following the reports of “deliberate fires”.

The force said: “Signs have now been installed by the Arson Reduction Team highlighting how to report - if you have any concerns regarding fires being started in the area, please report accordingly.”

The Arson Reduction Team can be contacted with information by calling 01792 705 130.