Break In at Home Park

The club has today reported criminal damage at Home Park following a break-in at the stadium on the night of Saturday, 4 June.

Individuals broke through perimeter fencing before entering the grounds team’s storage garage to gain access to a tractor.

Having started the ignition with tools, the individuals proceeded to drive the tractor across the Home Park pitch, which is at an early and crucial stage of renovation ahead of the 22/23 season, leaving significant damage.

Inscapes, the company which supports the Argyle ground staff with their annual pitch renovations across the stadium, first-team and Academy pitches, will make an additional trip to Home Park as soon as possible to re-germinate the playing surface – though there is no guarantee that the damage from the incident can be repaired instantly.

This work comes at additional cost to the club, and places our grounds team under further pressure, with an already tight turnaround for scheduled pre-season matches. The club will also be upscaling security at the stadium to ensure that this does not happen again. Of course, this adds further expense, deviating vital funds away from enhancing the stadium, squad, and match-day experience at Argyle.

It should go without saying, but any true supporter of Argyle would not engage in such mindless destruction.

The trespassers’ ability to efficiently break down newly installed fencing with specific tools, before accessing the grounds team’s garage and recently-installed roof lighting control system suggests that the intruders had a solid operational knowledge of Home Park, and the club will be lending its full support to the police in an attempt to see these individuals identified and punished accordingly.

Police visited the stadium on Sunday to collect fingerprints and gather information, which includes a reasonable amount of CCTV footage which should go some way towards identifying the individuals responsible.

We are unable to publish images of the individuals at this time as the police are now leading an active investigation. CCTV footage may be released by Devon and Cornwall Police in the coming days to support their investigation efforts.

In the meantime, we urge anyone who may have any information that could be of assistance with the investigation to contact Devon and Cornwall Police, citing case reference number CR/048962/22. Supporters can also send any relevant information to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

A reward will be offered for information.

Where were you last night Ears?


Exeter City supporters were quickly eliminated from enquiries due to the ingenuity required to stage the break-in.

not helpful news at all this, how easy was it for them to break in and do that i would like to know as that seems to surreal to be professionals at play.

Best move the pitch has seen all season

FFS! What a mess.

Grovehill wrote:

Where were you last night Ears?


Exeter City supporters were quickly eliminated from enquiries due to the ingenuity required to stage the break-in.

Fan who wants to see a decent team playing at home park chief suspect in tractor led pitch invasions spoils family fun day experience.

Earwegoagain wrote:

Grovehill wrote:

Where were you last night Ears?


Exeter City supporters were quickly eliminated from enquiries due to the ingenuity required to stage the break-in.

Fan who wants to see a decent team playing at home park chief suspect in tractor led pitch invasions spoils family fun day experience.

divert money from the stadium & PLAYING SQUAD Was waiting for that old chestnut …surely there insuranced for this kind off stuff and got jack shit to do with team budget

RegGreen wrote:

Earwegoagain wrote:

Grovehill wrote:

Where were you last night Ears?


Exeter City supporters were quickly eliminated from enquiries due to the ingenuity required to stage the break-in.

Fan who wants to see a decent team playing at home park chief suspect in tractor led pitch invasions spoils family fun day experience.

divert money from the stadium & PLAYING SQUAD Was waiting for that old chestnut …surely there insuranced for this kind off stuff and got jack shit to do with team budget

they should be and if they arent i want to know why.
I recall this happened to Plymouth Gladiators back when they where the Devils a few years back where kids broke into their stadium and destroyed all the protective padded boards around the track and they had to pay hundreds of thousands to fix before they where allow to race again. Pretty much killed them paying out for that without insurance i believe.

Christ on a bike. At first I thought I read 'Brent in at Home Park'! (((shudders))))

Grovey well on message with the board on this one, from the tone of that missive I'm convinced they think that a fan did it and not just some pissed/coked up knobhead or maybe just a couple of kids egging each other on.

Did they turn the floodlights on then?

Thought it was weird they were on when driving past around 23:30 on the way back from the 1 Big Summer event up on the Hoe.

Tgwu wrote:

The club has today reported criminal damage at Home Park following a break-in at the stadium on the night of Saturday, 4 June.

Individuals broke through perimeter fencing before entering the grounds team’s storage garage to gain access to a tractor.

Having started the ignition with tools, the individuals proceeded to drive the tractor across the Home Park pitch, which is at an early and crucial stage of renovation ahead of the 22/23 season, leaving significant damage.

Inscapes, the company which supports the Argyle ground staff with their annual pitch renovations across the stadium, first-team and Academy pitches, will make an additional trip to Home Park as soon as possible to re-germinate the playing surface – though there is no guarantee that the damage from the incident can be repaired instantly.

This work comes at additional cost to the club, and places our grounds team under further pressure, with an already tight turnaround for scheduled pre-season matches. The club will also be upscaling security at the stadium to ensure that this does not happen again. Of course, this adds further expense, deviating vital funds away from enhancing the stadium, squad, and match-day experience at Argyle.

It should go without saying, but any true supporter of Argyle would not engage in such mindless destruction.

The trespassers’ ability to efficiently break down newly installed fencing with specific tools, before accessing the grounds team’s garage and recently-installed roof lighting control system suggests that the intruders had a solid operational knowledge of Home Park, and the club will be lending its full support to the police in an attempt to see these individuals identified and punished accordingly.

Police visited the stadium on Sunday to collect fingerprints and gather information, which includes a reasonable amount of CCTV footage which should go some way towards identifying the individuals responsible.

We are unable to publish images of the individuals at this time as the police are now leading an active investigation. CCTV footage may be released by Devon and Cornwall Police in the coming days to support their investigation efforts.

In the meantime, we urge anyone who may have any information that could be of assistance with the investigation to contact Devon and Cornwall Police, citing case reference number CR/048962/22. Supporters can also send any relevant information to [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.].

A reward will be offered for information.

That rule out Ryan Lowe then.

Disgruntled ex-employee.

Rhymes with ‘Von Crack’.

Case closed M’lud.

Would the cost of repairs be cover by insurance

Tgwu wrote:

Would the cost of repairs be cover by insurance

I’d be amazed if it wasn’t.

Czarcasm wrote:

Tgwu wrote:

Would the cost of repairs be cover by insurance

I’d be amazed if it wasn’t.

yeah so would I ..under jimmy it might have been a different matter ..the clubs basic insurance should cover shit like this

I wonder if Devon & Cornwalls finest have interviewed fatty & Pissy pants sounds like one of there pisspotti lemon party’s got out of hand in the green taveners bar

ITV news reporting the damage but careful not to actually show it, I'm wondering if the damage isn't that great after all?

Earwegoagain wrote:

ITV news reporting the damage but careful not to actually show it, I'm wondering if the damage isn't that great after all?

proberly just a distraction away from the playing budget

The Pilgrims are still scheduled to play Championship duo Swansea City and Bristol City next month

A full re-seeding of the Home Park pitch was carried out yesterday (Monday) as Argyle made a swift attempt to limit the impact of the break-in.

The Pilgrims are scheduled to play Swansea City at the Theatre of Greens on Tuesday, July 12 (7.30pm) and Bristol City on Saturday, July 16.

The 2022/23 League One campaign will then begin a fortnight later, with Argyle set to find out on Thursday, June 23 about their fixtures.

An Argyle spokesperson told Plymouth Live: "The grounds team and renovation partners set to work immediately on repairing the damage following Saturday night's break in.

Through immediate response and paying for some additional contractor support, the setback to the timetable has been limited to one week, and so this is unlikely to necessitate a change in the club's pre-season schedule.

Should the situation change, the club will promptly update supporters and stakeholders as a mater of course.

Press release from 5-0 a few minutes ago...............


Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with a break-in at Plymouth Argyle Football Club’s stadium that saw the pitch left badly damaged by a tractor.  

The vehicle, normally used by the League One side’s grounds team, was accessed and driven over the Home Park playing surface in the early hours of Sunday 5 June.

It is estimated that thousands of pounds-worth of damage was caused to the pitch.

Two boys, who are both under the age of 16 and from the Plymouth area, have been arrested on suspicion of burglary. They have been released under investigation while police enquiries continue.

After reading that the yoofs started the tractor using tools I wonder if they went on one of those young offenders courses where they teach you to fix cars, my mates brother did one back in the day and was Plymouths go to bhey for hot wiring cars.

RegGreen wrote:

I wonder if Devon & Cornwalls finest have interviewed fatty & Pissy pants  sounds like one of there pisspotti lemon party’s got out of hand in the green taveners bar

I did wonder if it was a bitter former Toadie who had lost his AAA pass and Special friend hugs and kisses status, when it was claimed the offender scaled a fence.... that obviously rules out a thirty stone Lardo straight away.