Blacker than a witches tit eh... Righty then, what camera are you using ? I'd imagine it has some other settings, firstly I'd try aperture priority, make sure you set the aperture open as wide as you can ( see Cream's description above ), the camera will handle the shutter speed so nice and easy to get along with.
If that doesn't work set it to one of the sport modes or something like that and see if that helps. If it does when you get home and open the images on the computer it will tell you what settings the camera used to recreate that, make notes or memorise the a couple of those settings and try then on manual next time.
I would also try another lens or if you know someone else with the same make of camera as you will they let you borrow a better lens ? Unfortunately in the game of photography what you spend will affect the performance. Just about all current DSLR's will produce good photo's but the glass in front of the sensor will make massive differences, it's never cheap though
Keep trying with this, photography is very rewarding but it takes a lot of practice, see if you can get a 2nd hand lens ? London Camera Exchange are a great chain of shops and often have bargains in that you can try and physically see what it's like before you buy. I'm not sure I'd trust getting a used lens from ebay but it might be worth a try.
The other thing you could look at is a fast ( as in f2.8 ) lens which is manual focus, you'll have to be a bit quicker with the camera settings but that might help with the amount of light you're getting into the camera.
Keep us updated how you get on, you'll get there in the end !