Nursery toys smashed in a heartless attack in Gosport

CHILDREN were left distraught when staff found at the beginning of term that their nursery had fallen victim to vandals.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Jan 2017, 06:00 BST
Indira-Kiki Joice holding a sign up to help YMCA Nursery in Gosport raise funds after a vandal attackIndira-Kiki Joice holding a sign up to help YMCA Nursery in Gosport raise funds after a vandal attack
Indira-Kiki Joice holding a sign up to help YMCA Nursery in Gosport raise funds after a vandal attack

YMCA Nursery, in Gosport, was the subject of a attack while youngsters were off for a week over Christmas.

Employers and children were upset when they found the nursery looking like a bomb site when they returned.

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Heartless vandals had destroyed play structures, broken into the shed, wrecked toys and also urinated over equipment

The shed at the YMCA Nursery was broken intoThe shed at the YMCA Nursery was broken into
The shed at the YMCA Nursery was broken into

There were also discarded cigarette ends, beer cans and drug-related equipment, and staff had to throw the majority of items out.

Jo Currass, nursery manager, said: ‘As you can imagine, children, parents, carers and staff are devastated.

‘We hope to restore the garden as soon as possible so the children can enjoy playing outside again.’

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To help fund new toys and equipment, Angie Tailor-Joice, whose daughter, Indira-Kiki Joice, four, started a GoFundMe page.

Some of the litter left in the nursery gardenSome of the litter left in the nursery garden
Some of the litter left in the nursery garden

The attack has captured the public’s heart, with over £500 being raised so far.

Angie said: ‘We had such a lovely Christmas break and the girls who worked there had to clean urine up.

‘After spending a lot of time indoors, Indy was really excited to go back to nursery and play outside, which she couldn’t do. I was really gutted when I found out. It was shocking and disgusting.

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‘The children had to play indoors and, although the staff made it fun for them, as an adult you could see something was missing.

The shed at the YMCA Nursery was broken intoThe shed at the YMCA Nursery was broken into
The shed at the YMCA Nursery was broken into

‘I knew I had to do something because when it is your child and you see that the staff at the nursery work so hard every day, it makes you think. The response I have got from the Go Fund Me page has been overwhelming and blown me away.’

Hampshire Constabulary has confirmed that investigations are ongoing.

Anyone with information should call 101, quoting 44170002054. To help the nursery, visit https://www.gofundme.com/ymca-gosport-nursery-garden