Halesfield Day Nursery in Telford, Shropshire, suffered extensive damage when thieves broke into the building two weekends ago and tried to gain access to the setting's walk-in safe. They stole the nursery's two laptop computers as well as smashing windows and breaking down doors.
A member of staff discovered the damage on a Sunday when they went to check on the nursery's bird feeders.
Nursery manager Helen Childs said, 'I was gutted when I saw the damage to the nursery. The thieves made a large hole above the concrete walk-in safe, which we only keep resources in and our laptops.
'It was horrible cleaning up all the rubble, but we did such a good job that some parents didn't even notice.'
The nursery was open as usual the next day, with builders getting to work on repairing the damage.
As a consequence of the break-in and the children's interest in the builders, the nursery turned its role-play area into a construction site with tools, high visibility vests, bricks and signs, donated by parents who work on building sites.
Ms Childs said, 'The children were intrigued by the builders and fascinated by the work they were doing. They absolutely love the construction site role-play area and have been going around the nursery looking for screws to put in the wall using their screwdrivers. They are also picking up the terminology.'
Following the break-in, the nursery was given an alarm worth £2,000 by a parent who runs his own security company, called Smart Home Protection. Another parent has arranged for the children to visit a local brickyard.
Ms Childs said she was really touched by the support from parents and staff and hoped to have the nursery back to normal within the next few weeks.
