The Halswell Hornets Rugby League Club has been left “absolutely gutted” after major vandalism was discovered at its clubrooms on Sunday.

In a post, the club said the incident happened around 1am when two men were seen behind the Palladium and main building, out of camera view.

One of the men then walked along the front steps and vandalised every single window on the front of the clubrooms, shattering the first layer of double glazing on all 34 panels and kicking in two of the bottom panes before the alarm was activated at 1.11am.

Staff arrived on site shortly after 1.20am.

The club said the pair were riding “flashy electric scooters” and were likely locals, given the poor weather conditions that night.

Halswell Hornets Vice President Jeff Whittaker told Chris Lynch Media the news was “absolutely gut wrenching” for the community.

“We lost the old clubrooms after the earthquakes, and for this to now happen is an another blow to 65 years of hard work with the club, he said.

“There was nothing in the building for them to take. We saw the footage of them sussing the place out, before going in and breaking all of the windows.

Mr Whittker says the damage is going to impact the club’s development of junior programs, with funds being diverted to fix the damage.

“The money we will have to spend with quotes, insurance excess is money that could have gone to supporting the club and junior players.”

The suspects are both believed to be in their 30s. One was described as wearing a grey hoodie, black pants, black biker gloves, and carrying a small camouflage backpack.

The other was reportedly wearing a black puffer jacket and black pants.

The club is asking anyone who may have seen the men, or who has security or driveway camera footage from Halswell Road or Lillian Street, to get in touch.