A Framlingham grassroots football club has been given the green light to rebuild its ticket office after its previous booth was scorched by arsonists.
A wooden booth at the Framlingham Sports and Football Club ground in Badingham Road, home to volunteer-run Framlingham Town FC, was burned down in the evening of Wednesday, December 16 last year.
The incident happened as several youth players from the club were taking part in a training session elsewhere at the ground.
Officers from Suffolk police investigated the fire, which had also spread to a nearby fence, and said the incident was being treated as arson.
Dean Warner, Framlingham Town's chairman, said the blaze was "very frustrating and very disappointing", particularly as the club's finances had been hit due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A GoFundMe page was subsequently launched by Mr Warner - which has raised more than £1,800 in the months since the fire.
The fundraiser had a target of £5,000 but attracted more than £1,000 in donations in the first day it went live.
The club applied to East Suffolk Council seeking permission for a rebuild of the structure in February and received the go-ahead for the scheme last week.
The rebuilt ticket booth is proposed to be a permanent structure to meet the ground rules of league competition, as well as providing disability access.
Framlingham Town Council discussed the plans but raised no objections to the rebuild.
Mr Warner said he was thankful for all the donations that had been received online - including from many people with no connections to the club.
He said: "It's been great. The target on the GoFundMe was set quite high but a lot of people recognised what had happened to us.
"Without the support, we wouldn't be at the stage we're at.
"The ticket office is going to be a brick building and will have metal doors that make it more secure. It will be a big improvement.
"It's now a case of sorting the builders will that will do it. But it's just been frustrating that we have to rebuild it because of such an unnecessary act."
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