THIEVES broke into a rugby club house flooding it with beer and stealing dozens of bottles of spirits and £1,000-worth of electrical tools.

Apprentice electrician Matt Dunwell, who had been doing work at Upton Rugby Club, saw his work tools stolen in the raid overnight between Saturday and Sunday.

The 24-year-old has had to use all of his savings to replace the equipment, which he'd left at the club while doing some work there in preparation for Upton Blues Festival.

“The people who broke in turned the bar taps on and flooded the bar with two barrels worth of beer, stole 25-30 bottles of spirits and £1,000-worth of tools," said Mr Dunwell, also a member of the club.

Along with four other volunteers, he had spent all day Saturday cleaning the club and doing odd jobs, including re-plumbing the draft kit, repairing lights and fixing doors.

He said the culprits also "emptied all the cupboards and turned all the furniture upside down", adding: "A lot of damage for a very little amount of stolen property."

Mr Dunwell, who lives in Hanley Castle and has played for the club member since he was 13, said

his Martindale electrical testing equipment and Dewalt power tools are inscribed with his name.

"I've used all of my savings to replace them and am currently at work with no tool and if I can’t work I can’t get paid."

Rob Heeley, club chairman, said: "It’s not fair. It’s a non-profit club all run by volunteers."

He said it was the first break-in in a "number of years" at the club.