Goalposts destroyed in Selkirk gypsy row

The goalposts at Selkirk Youth Club's rugby ground have been pulled down.

The site has been a bone of contention amongst Souters for more than a year now, with the neighbouring caravan park being Scottish Borders Council’s choice for housing gypsy travellers during lockdown.

But for Jake Wheelans, who has been a stalwart of Selkirk Youth Club for many years, the damage to the posts is “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.

He told us: “We’ve had windows broken and paths damaged at our clubhouse and with the posts being damaged, enough is enough.

"I’ve kept quiet for months over this situation and we need to have a public meeting now to discuss how we are going to sort this out. I’m not prepared to put up with any more of this senseless vandalism.”

The Southern visited the site on Monday and took the above picture, but caravan residents took umbrage and told the reporter to “f*** off”.

However, they also said they had nothing to do with the damage to the posts, saying it had been done by “one of your own”, alleging a local had run into it with a black Nissan pick-up type vehicle.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We received reports of damage being caused to the rugby pitch in Victoria Park, Selkirk, between Friday, April 23 and Sunday, April 25.

"Enquiries are ongoing to find those responsible and anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting incident 3241 of Sunday, 25 April, 2021.”