The synthetic grass pitch at Berrambool Oval has been torn and pulled up by vandals, with a repair bill expected to be in the thousands.

Ray Fisher from the Merimbula Knights said one of the cricket club’s junior coaches discovered the damage when arriving to set up for Saturday morning’s junior games.

They had to call around other clubs to see if the day’s junior and senior games could be played elsewhere, and managed to get underway at Pambula Beach.

“It’s definitely not accidental – there were beer bottles strewn about as well,” Mr Fisher said.

“It’s really disappointing. I don’t know how much it’s going to cost, but the whole lot will have to be replaced.”

As vandalism to a council asset, the replacement costs will be borne by the council, which may result in other projects being delayed.

The silver lining to the vandalism is there are no more games at the ground until January 20.

BVSC is already seeking a quote to replace the synthetic pitch, but it’s understood a surface of this type can cost between $5-7000.