By Ivor Smith, Public Relations Officer, Essex County RFU

Usually a grey haired gentleman on a roof conjures up pictures of Father Christmas in the festive season. Not so at Upminster where the grey haired gentleman turned out to be club volunteer Tony Gilligan repairing tiles after a night of stone throwing by local youths.

Said Tony afterwards, “We have this every weekend. Being in an open council park does have its dificulties with vandalism. We have encouraged some local youths to join the club, but it is the mindless minority which cause the problem. Still I won’t be giving up the day job to become a roofer.”