Tesco comes to the rescue of Westover Primary School in Portsmouth after vandals damage children’s greenhouse

Following the ‘mindless act’ last weekend, staff and children at the school were angered that people would deliberately cause such damage at a time ‘when communities are supposed to be pulling together’.

Year 5 pupil, Hugo Murray, 10, said: ‘It was not very nice when we saw what had happened. Hopefully the people who did it will be in big trouble.’

Headteacher Sarah Sadler said: ‘It makes me feel terribly sad that someone could do something like this at a time when people are being affected by a global pandemic.’

However, in the face of adversity, the local community, including the Tesco store in Fratton, has come to the Baffins school’s rescue by providing new gardening equipment and plants for the children.

Mrs Sadler said: ‘After we posted about the incident on Facebook one of the mothers who works at Tesco had mentioned in the store what had happened. We were then contacted by the supermarket who provided new soil, seeds, pots and equipment for the children to continue with their gardening.

‘We also had a local resident who heard what had happened and donated some tomato plants.’

With the school still open for key worker pupils, the children have been putting the new tools to good use.

Hugo said: ‘Tesco and other people have been really kind to donate these things. I really enjoyed planting the carrots today and I hope to eventually eat them.’

Mrs Sadler added: ‘I’m delighted people cared enough to want to help replace the equipment for the children.’

SEE ALSO: Schools donate protective equipment to NHS staff fighting coronavirus at Gosport War Memorial Hospital

The headteacher thanked Tesco for its generosity.

A Tesco spokeswoman said: ‘Our colleagues at Fratton Extra were delighted to help with some gardening equipment for the school and hope that the children enjoy their gardening when they return.’

Hampshire police are appealing for anyone with information on the incident to get in touch.

A police spokeswoman said: ‘We were called just before 9am on March 30 to reports of damage being caused at Westover Primary School. Entry was forced into the greenhouse and damage was caused inside. This happened between March 27 and 30. Anyone with information should phone 101, quoting 442001144630.

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.