Castleford Tigers have thousands stolen in burglary

Castleford Tigers and the police are appealing for information after having thousands of pounds in cash stolen over the weekend at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle.

Wakefield District CID would like to speak to anyone who has information or has seen someone trying to deposit significant amounts of coins following the burglaries during the early hours of Friday and Saturday.

Speaking about the incidents, which also saw large amounts of damages to the club offices, Tigers CEO Steve Gill said: “We can confirm that a break in took place here at the Jungle over the weekend and a significant sum of money has been taken from our safes. Most of our match day takings had already been collected by G4S during Friday night’s game but bar takings from later in the evening have been stolen,”

Steve added: “We are working closely with West Yorkshire Police scenes of crime officers and using our CCTV footage to help identify the culprits of this break in. Can I urge anyone with any information to contact West Yorkshire Police immediately to help get to the bottom of this incident. Still saws and drills were used to break through three separate safes so this wasn’t a quick job, this was a calculated burglary.”

Detective Sergeant Phil Davis of Wakefield District CID, said: “Significant amounts of cash have been stolen form the club in two break-ins during the weekend and we are working closely with the club to identify and catch those responsible.

“The rugby club is a huge part of the community in Castleford and I would ask anyone who has information about this attack on it to come forward.

“In particular, we are keen to speak with anyone who might have seen persons trying to cash in significant amounts of coins locally, given that thousands of pounds worth of coins were stolen.

“This could include persons trying to use automatic coin chasing machines, or even going into money brokers and local banks.

“Anyone who can assist is asked to contact Wakefield District CID on 101 referencing crime number 13170301178.  Information can also be given anonymously to the independent Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111.”