CLUB officials have condemned vandals who caused an estimated £5,000 worth of damage at Great Lever and Farnworth Golf Club after they hacked away at one of the greens.

The gang of louts broke on to the course, despite the club erecting fences around the land, and smashed up the well-maintained third hole so badly it could be out of use for days.

Staff at the Plodder Lane club say the turf on the green may have to be re-laid, leaving them with a massive bill.

Neil Woolfrey, course manager and a member of the team of five people who keep the surface in top condition, was devastated when he saw the vandalism.

"I couldn't believe what I saw," he said. "We have had small problems in the past, such as missing flags, but nothing like this.

"We put a lot of time and effort looking after the greens and I can't tell you what I think about the people who have done this."

Mr Woolfrey, aged 32, said they knew youths often came on to the course from the Freshfield Avenue side. It is believed the vandals struck after 9pm on Monday and used golf clubs to dig into the green.

The committee has spent £40,000 erecting safety fences around the course and said there was very little it can do if people are intent on trespassing.

The club cannot cover the whole area with CCTV cameras, although they are hoping the system installed at the nearby Royal Bolton Hospital may have caught some of the culprits.

More than 600 people are members at the course and a similar number of people use the facilities every week.

Police are investigating. They said they will step up patrols in the area.

The incident is the latest in a summer of vandalism across Bolton. Earlier this month £2,000-worth of damage was caused at Daisy Hill Football Club when youths smashed dugouts and gates.

Vandals also angered members of Queen's Park bowling club when they cut obscene messages into the green.

This week 14 windows were smashed when a gang threw concrete boulders at Johnson Fold County Primary school.