Vandals destroy nursery play area for second time

Jul 25 2012 by Shona Mitchell, East Kilbride News

MINDLESS vandals have destroyed a nursery garden and play area for the second time in just three years.

The children and staff of Halfmerke Community Nursery in East Mains were devastated to find their recently revamped garden area has been completely wrecked again over the weekend.

The callous thugs responsible ripped up newly planted flowers, smashed pots and ripped apart the children’s much-loved wooden pirate ship and playhouse.

Staff and children had only recently spent several days in the garden to make it ship-shape for the summer.

Now they are heartbroken their hard work has been undone.

Amongst the items ruined were several pieces of equipment which had been donated to the nursery by parents and the local community.

The nursery had also spent cash from recent fundraisers to bring the outdoor area up to scratch.

When the area was last wrecked by vandals, in June 2009, it was shortly after staff at the Bonnie Prince Charlie pub in the town spent £2000 transforming the weed-filled wilderness to a fun and educational play area for the over plus children who attend.

A spokeswoman for the nursery told the News: “We just couldn’t believe it when we arrived on Monday morning to find vandals had broken in and once again destroyed our garden and outdoor play area.

“We have just spent a lot of time doing a lot of work in it and had it looking brilliant.

“We had been given several donations and did fundraising to create a vegetable patch and we had planted lots of flowers.

“The children are broken-hearted that their pirate ship and playhouse have been ruined.”

She added: “It is very upsetting as the damage is pretty bad.

“We don’t understand how people could do this. All we wanted was to create a sensory experience for the children and had worked really hard to improve it.

“We are utterly devastated.”

If anyone would like to help the nursery get their garden back to a condition where the children can enjoy it by donating items, staff can be contacted on 243156.