Thieves target Banbury area archery club in burglary

An open day at the JB Archery club on the grounds of the National Herb Centre, Warmington, Banbury

A burglary has left the owner of a Banbury area archery club shocked and devastated.

One of the instructors at the archery club discovered the break-in yesterday, Wednesday July 15.

Barry Bryant-Kobil, who runs the JB Archery Club, said: "They've broken the pad locks to the shed. It's where I repair the bows. It's the office. It's where I run the business.

"They took all the bows, 200 to 300 arrows and a load of tools. There's about £4,000 worth of bows to replace, and that's just the bows.

Ivan Walsh, a Banbury resident, and new club member, who has spoken out in support of the JB Archery club.

"I find it really hard to believe."

A lawn mower and metal detector were also stolen during the break-in.

Barry runs archery sessions on the grounds at The National Herb Centre, Warmington, Banbury, in the evenings and weekends. He also runs after school clubs during the summer months.

He added: "It started off as a hobby. I've built up my business from scratch. I've got my certificate for teaching archery.

"It's a place where people can come and just be themselves. It's not something I do for profit. It's just the happiness it brings to people when they come and have fun."

Along with the running the archery club, Barry also offers archery lessons for people with special needs on Friday nights.

Barry was invited to Buckingham Palace last year in May 2019 for the Queen's tea party as recognition for his service to the community.

While Barry hopes the break-in will be covered by insurance he has also posted an appeal on Facebook asking for anyone with information about the archery equipment to contact the JB Archery club.