After crawling through the wall they climbed onto the suspended ceiling and broke through the gyprock tiles to get into the bar area.

The two, who had unwittingly triggered a silent alarm, were allegedly enjoying a coldie from the fridge when security and police officers arrived.

They fled, although one emerged from a back room when he was called out.

He had received a head injury during the course of the break-in.

The second man was located behind a shed in the yard.

A 24-year-old man and a 21-year-old man have been summonsed to appear at the next sittings of the Magistrates Court.

It is believed the offenders may have waited until the club manager left the premises at 8:30pm.

The two were arrested about a half hour later.

Bowling Club vice president, Dave Rutherford, said members were angry and disappointed about the incident.

“They’ve made a real mess of the place,” he said.

“It looks like they’ve used a sledgehammer or crowbar.

“There’s thousands of dollars worth of damage here and it’s all a big strain on a small venue like ours.”

Mr Rutherford said the Bowling Club, which has been struggling to survive financially, is staffed by volunteers.

“Everyone who works here is putting in a big effort so we can keep this facility open,” he said.

“So when we have setbacks like this, it is really disheartening.

“Nobody wins here. The offenders didn’t get away with anything and now they’ve been caught so it wasn’t worth their while.

“And we’re left with with the damage bill and a big mess to clean up.”