HEARTLESS

PICKING up the pieces . . . deputy manager Jessica Elsworth

HEARTLESS vandals have destroyed a play area which only opened two months ago in the latest of a string of attacks on a nursery.

Appledore Nursery in Rock Street, Oldham, was forced to shut yesterday following a deliberate fire which destroyed its new outdoor area on Tuesday evening . . . just days after its garden was vandalised. The nursery itself will reopen today but the new play area, which was only opened by Oldham Mayor, Councillor Derek Heffernan in June, will remain closed until at least next Monday following the extensive damage. The blaze ­- stopped by fire crews minutes before it reached the building ­- destroyed the wooden decking as well as a metal shutter. It will cost of thousands to repair.

Jessica Elsworth, deputy manager at Appledore, said: "We have spent a lot of time and effort in doing the outdoor areas so we're devastated.

"It is a children's area, it is affecting them more than anyone else, they now haven't got a nursery for the day and have not got a play area.

"All our parents are quite shocked, we don't understand why someone has targeted the nursery.

"We have not had that decking up long and it cost the nursery a lot of money.

"The shutter to the building has been damaged and now that is going to cost a few thousand to get it fixed.

"In the last few weeks we have seen the garden ruined."

Jessica said staff will work over the weekend to prepare the outdoor area for the children and hopes CCTV footage will identify the culprits.

She said: "This is the second incident of vandalism that we have had this week, on Monday the garden had been vandalised and all of our chicken coop had been broken.

"The fire is not the first time but we have got CCTV so hopefully the people who did this will be found.

"It probably would have been a lot worse if the fire service hadn't got here so quickly, they did a really good job.

"We hope that the CCTV footage will shed some light on it really, if anyone has any information definitely go to the police."

Thieves also tried but failed to steal a dolls' house from the nursery in 2015.

A police investigation is under way.