A NEWPORT bowls club which had to disband just before the start of its 50th year because of repeated vandal attacks and thefts are celebrating after getting a new home.

Llanwern Bowls Club had to pull out of this season after they were told by the owner of the green, St Modwen, it could not carry on replacing and repairing damage to gates and locks.

Following the article in the Argus earlier this month detailing the club's plight, club secretary Bob Davis, 56, wrote to Newport and Monmouthshire bowling associations.

The Newport association contacted Newport council who helped find them a new home at Beechwood Bowls Club, in Beechwood Park.

Mr Davis arranged a meeting of former members at Llanwern and told them the good news.

"The reaction was fantastic, everyone is really up for it, they were really pleased. We're looking forward to our news season, a new start, in our new bowling green. It was a lot of hard work, with a lot of phone calls, but it was worth it in the end," he said.

The Llanwern site suffered approximately 30 incidents of theft, vandalism at the clubhouse and flytipping on the green in the past year, including around 1,000 car tyres being dumped and copper wiring stolen from the clubhouse.

St Modwen sent the club a letter saying if there were any further breaches of security, they would be forced to shut off access to the site as they could not carry on paying to repair the damage.

Members were visiting Llanwern twice a day to try and keep it safe, but to no avail. Thieves used bolt cutters on padlocks and sawed off a barrier across the access road in order to get to the club.Faced with the prospect of losing their home mid-season, the club took the tricky decision to disband before the first game in April.

All former members have signed up to play at Beechwood, the club will keep its name and fixtures have been arranged so they don't clash with Beechwood's.

Llanwern's first home game is againts Brynmawr in the Welsh Cup on May 11.A Newport council spokeswoman said: "Newport council was happy to help Llanwern Bowls Club find a new home in Beechwood Park."