An act of “completely and utterly pointless vandalism” has left Ilford bowls club members in shock after their shed was smashed up.

Iris Burton, secretary of Redbridge Bowls Club, based in Valentines Park, Cranbrook Road, was called yesterday after a member of the neighbouring cricket club noticed the damage.

Mrs Burton went down to the site this morning and said she was completely horrified that something so pointless had happened.

The damage is so bad she believes that someone has driven a car into the corrugated shed which is used to house club equipment.

Mrs Burton, 73, said: “I was horrified. I cannot believe that people would do that. What a society we live in. It was completely and utterly pointless vandalism. We are retired, we are no threat to anyone.”

The shed is not covered by the club’s insurance and she is unsure how they are going to find the £500 needed to replace it.

“We are a very small club and our members are aging,” Mrs Burton said. “We might have to dip into next year’s funds.”

Despite there being bowls equipment and furniture inside the shed, she does not think the vandals were intending to steal anything.

Mrs Burton said: “If they were going to steal something I would have thought they would have done it when they vandalised the building.”

She said that in 2009 the entire club house was burned to the ground and there had been smaller acts of vandalism over the years, including the club sign ending up in the lake.

“Where the shed is, it isn’t a right of way,” she said. “You can get through to the cricket ground but it’s never really used.”

A member of the neighbouring cricket club, who did not want to be named, said that he believes the vandalism happened on Saturday night.

He said that a manhole cover had been placed in a drain and the boundary ropes had also been disturbed.