Jairzinho Wright has vowed not to allow a serious off-field menace wreck Henbury's emergence as a local football force.

Wright's first team finished fifth in the Gloucestershire County League this season and were beaten only on penalties by Kings Stanley in the final of the Les James Cup.

Persistent vandalism carried out by local youths to club property led recently to the resignation of secretary Charlie Barron, a Henbury member for 40 years, whose car had been smashed on three separate occasions in the car park of their Arnall Drive premises.

But boss Wright came fighting back today and pledged: "While it's awful that a great guy like Charlie should be treated in this way, and the club as a whole be attacked like it has, we can't allow the progress to stop because of it.

"It's not just about the first team – we have more than 200 kids and 60 adults playing football here for 10 youth and three senior teams and we have to keep it going for them.

"We are trying to get the funding to secure the ground better and get CCTV in place. I'm determined to see a bright future at Henbury; there's no way we can let it go under."