THEY thought it was all over but a football club defied the odds by returning to its improved home ground a year after it was destroyed by travellers.

Whiteoak Wanderers had just moved to Lower Road Recreation Ground, Hextable, when travellers from a 60-strong caravan group trashed the clubhouse and left a trail of rubbish and human waste on pitches last June.

But the 70 boys returned on the weekend after a massive clear-up and repair operation costing around £70,000.

Fifty teams from the area participated in a celebration tournament and chairman Declan Molyneux said it was “fantastic” to have a home at last.

He said: “Last year, after four years, we thought we were going to have a home at last but the traveller incursion completely destroyed it.” The clubhouse, which was gutted, has got new flooring, changing rooms, showers, a kitchen and a large hall.

Three pitches and a training area are marked out and a single regeneration grant has helped purchase new goal posts and other equipment.

Jo Wheatley, whose nine-year-old son, Sam, plays for the team, says everyone is thrilled to finally have a ground.

Swanley Town Council claimed around £60,000 in insurance for the clean-up operation and parents praised the council and town clerk Brian Daley for their hard work.

Secure gates and hedging around the land will make it harder for travellers and vandals to get in and a 6ft spiked fence around the clubhouse gives the building extra security.

Mr Daley said: “It does look a bit like Fort Knox but if it keeps the vandals and travellers at bay, then that’s what we have got to do.”