Desperate rugby club officials today pleaded for Fort Knox-style fencing to keep out vandals, burglars and drug addicts.

Members of Clayton Amateur Rugby League Club said its ground had been plagued by attacks over recent months, including arsonists twice trying to burn down the scoreboard and intruders forcing their way into the club-house.

Club groundsman Keith Jones said: "I have to walk around our two pitches before each game and pick up pieces of broken glass and hypodermic syringes off the turf."

He added: "If one of our lads fell on a used needle it just doesn't bear thinking about."

The 63-year-old said the latest incident came on Tuesday morning when the secretary arrived at the Scholemoor Road ground. "Vandals had thrown a large piece of breeze block through one of the wire-supported windows. It had gone into the changing rooms and made a hell of a mess."

Mr Jones said the problem stemmed from a dilapidated wall around its perimeter.

"It is a crumbling dry sandstone wall which has big holes running through it."

He said fly-tippers took advantage of the easy access and regularly dumped old television sets and mattresses.

"At the end of the day we pay Bradford Council £3,000 a year for the site and we are getting no protection whatsoever," said Mr Jones. "The only way to stop these yobs getting in is to have an effective fence installed. We cannot think about improving things inside because they will just get wrecked."

He appealed for Bradford Council to help stop the attacks by installing an 8ft steel fence around the site. "It is a pretty drastic measure but it has helped elsewhere."

He said about 100 people were involved in the club which had teams with ages ranging from adults to under nines.

"It is a real community-based club. We do everything we can for local youngsters and there is a great feel about the place. But things get harder every time something like this happens," said Mr Jones.

A Bradford Council parks and landscapes spokesman said the club leased the ground on a long-term basis and added: "Within the lease conditions it is the club's responsibility to maintain all the fences and walls on the site.

"We sympathise with the problems they are experiencing and would be prepared to offer advice on how the club can improve its own security arrangements."