MEMBERS of Winsley Cricket Club have vowed to carry on this season's campaign despite the club's pavilion being gutted by fire.

Fire crews were called to the cricket ground, on the outskirts of Bradford on Avon, late on Sunday night.

Peter Cross, chairman of Winsley Cricket Club, said: "I got a call at about midnight on Sunday night from the president saying the place was on fire.

"By the time the fire brigade got there the place was totally destroyed."

A match was played at the club on Sunday afternoon and team members locked up the shed and pavilion before heading home at about 7pm, but by Monday morning little was left of the 28-year-old wooden pavilion.

The club now faces a replacement bill of around £50,000.

The club had already started work on planned improvements to the pavilion, and had laid foundations for a bar extension. A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: "This attack is being treated as arson, after an offender forced panels off the shed and once inside poured petrol on the floor and set fire to it.

"The fire completely destroyed the shed and the pavilion roof."

At an emergency meeting of club committee members on Monday night, it was resolved to set up a fighting fund to try and raise the money needed to continue the cricket season.

Mr Cross said: "This is dreadful timing, but we have decided we will not let this stop us and we will be playing this weekend. We have had a lot of support from other local clubs.

"Our concerns are that we need somewhere to lock up any equipment we borrow and the pavilion makes the area too dangerous to host youth games.

"Any help offered would be much appreciated."

Anyone who thinks they may be able to help the club is asked to contact Peter Cross on (01225) 862831.