THOUSANDS of pounds worth of damage has been caused to the roof of a community centre by lead thieves.

Staff at the Dorchester YMCA fear that the destruction will cause the building to leak in the winter weather and affect hundreds of youngsters if they are forced to close classes.

The centre in Sawmills Lane is home to a gym club, free running classes, keep-fit, kickboxing, Grace Baptist Church meetings, cheerleading classes, table tennis and trampolining.

Julie O’Brien, coaching team manager for the gymnastic section, said: “It’s been made waterproof for now but we don’t really want any snow for the moment as it’s going to come right through and do a lot more damage.

“We’re in the middle of getting quotes from different builders.”

Barbara Bailey, finance co-ordinator and rhythmic coach at the Dorchester YMCA, discovered the theft.

She said: “It’s annoying because obviously we’re a charity and every penny counts.

“Now we’ve got to mess about and sort it out – something we could do without.

“The centre is used by all ages from babies upwards. The gym is the main thing and we have 500 people on our books, including county level gymnasts and disabled gymnasts of national level.

“It would be a disaster if we had to shut the centre. It would affect a lot of people, including 20 coaches who would have to still be paid.”

Hayley Gould, centre co-ordinator for the Dorchester YMCA gym club, added: “You could tell it was a vandalism job and not professional, as the lead’s been ripped all the way around.

“They have actually taken all the lead off the roof apart from one panel. We’ve got insurance but it’s urgent work so we have to foot the bill first and pay the insurance premium of £250.

“The repairs are estimated to cost thousands of pounds because we’re paying for the labour and the works.

“It’s a massive inconvenience to everyone who uses the centre.

“We want people to realise there’s been a theft and to urge anyone with information to contact the police.”

A Dorset Police spokesman said: “At 4pm on Thursday November 25 we received a call from a woman advising us lead had been stolen from the YMCA building in Sawmills Lane. It’s believed to have occurred sometime between November 22 and November 25.

“A quantity of lead was taken from the roof.

“The lead is around three inches wide and 10ft and 15ft long, we’d appeal for any witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorchester police on 01305 222222.