Castleford Tigers hit by "substantial" cable theft
A large amount of cabling has been stolen from the ground used by rugby league team Castleford Tigers.
Steve Ferres, the club's chief executive officer, said it had suffered "a substantial theft during the festive break".
The theft was discovered on Wednesday when ground staff at Wheldon Road returned to work.
The stolen cabling carried electricity to hospitality boxes, the scoreboard, turnstiles and a floodlight.
Mr Ferres said the police had been informed but the theft "had come at the worst possible time with the new season fast approaching".
'Kick in teeth'
The Super League side is due to play a friendly at the stadium against neighbouring Championship club Featherstone Rovers on 20 January.
The full extent of the theft was still being evaluated, Mr Ferres said, but the damage was "a real kick in the teeth".
The club said the damage could run to a "five-figure sum".
According to Mr Ferres, the club already had a long list of essential repairs that needed to be made to the stadium.
Castleford Tigers finished 13th in the 14-team Super League last season and attracted an average gate of about 7,000 spectators.
The team will kick-off their 2013 campaign away to Warrington Wolves next month with their first home Super League fixture against reigning champions Leeds Rhinos on 10 February.