Michael Ganley opened the Fans’ Museum in Sunderland in 2019 as a place were football lovers can see, touch and wear hundreds of memorabilia items chronicling both the history of SAFC and the beautiful game in general.
The museum is also a popular spot for a pre-match drink.
However the venue, which is located at the Grade II-listed former Monkwearmouth Train Station, has been plagued by break-ins and vandals, costing the museum “over £20,000” in damages and lost items.
Michael said has been hit around 20 times by thieves and vandals, including “every month for the last 10 months” – to the point he has given up reporting incidents to the police.
“We’ve been broken into four times which cost us £12,000 in damages. In August 2022 we had thieves attempting to steal lead from the roof,” said Michael.
“It looked like it was going to cost us tens of thousands of pounds to repair the damage they caused. In the end it cost the museum over £4,000 to repair.
“In June and August 2023 we also had the wagon shed broken into which again cost around £4,000 to repair the dame caused.”
Despite the costs incurred due to these break-ins, Michael, 53, said he has “never claimed on his insurance”.
He added: “We end up having to absorb the costs ourselves as each time we were to make a claim would push up the cost of our insurance premium.”
More recently the museum has become a target for vandals, with graffiti attacks on the historic building.
Michael said: “In most parts of the museum the graffiti can be jet washed off or painted over. But they have also graffitied over the train boards which had been left with the last timetable of trains ever to run through this station.
“Removing this graffiti will also be removing a part of the city’s history. Those who do it leave their tag lines on and so I’m sure it wouldn’t be too difficult to track down who they are.
“We also recently had a group of six kids who smashed up our football table which was located in the garden – it was worth around £800.
“What looked like the same kids returned two weeks later and destroyed all of our flower beds.”
Michael initially reported the crimes being inflicted on his business to the police, but a number of incidents led to him losing faith in the system.
He explained: “On our roof we would fly the flags which used to be flown at Roker Park. They have been stolen three times.”
Michael said on the first occasion, he told police where to look, and an officer found them and returned with the flags.
But Michael said he was unhappy with the initial police response, and pushed for action.
“I pointed out that the flags had been damaged as they were torn and cut in places. There was also damage to the flag connection points which would need to be paid for,” he said.
“I said I did wish to press charges. The person was prosecuted and I was supposed to receive compensation. As yet, nothing has arrived.”
The final straw for Michael came in September 2023 when the museum was again broken into and 16 bottles of spirits were taken.
Michael said Sunderland City Council CCTV cameras picked up what appeared to be the people with the bottles of spirits walking down towards the Wearmouth Bridge, and said the police were contacted.
However, he claims officers were too busy to come out immediately.
“If they had of headed straight there then they could have potentially caught those responsible,” he said.
“It cost me hundreds of pounds to put those bottles back on the shelf.”
Michael said officers attended two days later, with forensics attending subsequent to their visit.
“Forensics did eventually come out and took a few fingerprints and that was the last I heard,” he said.
“It seems like contacting the police is becoming a pointless exercise and not worth even making that phone call.
“It feels like you are given a crime number and to go and claim off your insurance.”
Michael believes the Fans’ Museum is the only independent museum of its type in the country. As well as providing a much loved pre-match venue for both home and away fans, the museum has become a real community hub providing a range of initiatives to support local people in need.
Examples include taking the memorabilia to local care homes to act as a stimulus for dementia patients as well as being used in end of life care as a chance for people to reminisce about their passion for football in days gone by.
The museum also looks to engage younger fans by taking the memorabilia out to local schools and acts as a mental health hub for 63 people with a range of challenges.
Michael set up the museum with the intention of “making a difference” in the local community which makes it all the more emotionally draining when he has to deal with the unnecessary set-backs created by these crimes.
He said: “It does hurt me when these things happen. We are much more than a museum and people don’t realise all the work which goes on in the local community.”
The museum also provides a support and education hub, with many of its volunteers autistic and and diagnosed with ADHD.
Michael is particularly concerned about the impact any break-ins or incidents of vandalism can have on them.
He said: “We are a designated autism hub and while these incidents affect me they have more of an impact on my team. We are providing a safe space for people who shouldn’t be waking up and hearing we have been broken into.
“Break-ins also make people question whether they want to have any items of memorabilia displayed at the museum.”
Despite the set-backs, Michael is determined to continue the museum’s evolution, but does feel more needs to be done to tackle so called ‘silent crimes’ – those crimes often not seen as police priority and as such the perpetrators don’t always get brought to justice.
He said the community was fed up of what people saw as crimes not being properly dealt with.
“People will think if nothing is going to happen then I can go into this property or shop and take what I want,” he said.
The Echo put Michael’s concerns to Northumbria Police.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson responded: “We are absolutely committed to providing the very best service possible to the communities we serve and being there when people need us.
“In line with national guidance, we assess incidents in relation to threat, harm and risk with the appropriate resources then allocated.
“This ultimately helps ensure we can get to those who need us most as quickly as possible.
“For non-urgent incidents, we are committed to providing a proportionate response. We would also ask our communities to continue to support us by considering how they contact us.
“In an emergency or when a crime is taking place, you should phone 999 confident we will be here for you.
“Anyone reporting non-urgent information, where possible, please contact us digitally through our website or via social media as this will help keep our phone lines free for emergencies.
“If you are unable to contact us this way, you can also call 101 for non-urgent matters.”
Michael has been speaking to the Echo as part of our National World Silent Crime campaign to shine a light on the growing number of crimes going unreported to the police by people losing faith in the justice system, and to enable their voices to be heard.
To force change, we need to unite and remind ourselves that these ‘little’ crimes are not acceptable.
You should be safe and feel safe at work, at home, in the park and in your own neighbourhoods. We need you to tell us your stories and we, on your behalf, will take them to Downing Street. We need to stop being silent and we need you to help us.
