Petersfield Cricket Club has been left stumped in frustration as a driver has left their mark at their historic home.

Parts of their outfield at their Heath ground have been left badly rutted after a vehicle went off-road sometime on Sunday. The suspected Land Rover-type vehicle got onto the pitch after being driven through a gap close to the Durford Road crossroads, leaving deep ruts and muddy tracks.

Thankfully, the damage is repairable and the culprits stayed away from the square and wicket, but club official Steve Gibson was understandably annoyed when he surveyed the damage.

“It’s happened a couple of nights over the last week,” said Mr Gibson, who captains the Petersfield 2nd XI.

“They haven’t gone onto the square, thankfully, otherwise we would be in trouble, but they’ve just driven around the outfield which is rather odd. We should be able to recover as it’s wet, and that helps, plus we’ve got a very good groundsman. But some of the ruts are very deep.”

Camera footage will be reviewed while members of the grounds team at Petersfield Town Council, which oversees the Heath, have also installed a post at the access point, which should prevent further illegal incursions onto the pitch.

But the timing isn’t great, as the club were waiting for a drier period to improve the wetter parts of the outfield, while their funds aren’t buoyant having spent a lot of money on new nets.

Mr Gibson added: “Unfortunately, we’re a bit secluded so we’re occasionally vulnerable to something like this. But I’ve never known anything like this to happen before. We’ve got CCTV and they’ve come pretty close to the pavilion, so hopefully we’ll be able to get a numberplate image and give it to the police.”

Anyone with information should call 101 or Petersfield Town Council on 017320 264182.