大象传媒

Pre-school owner condemns 'mean-spirited' vandals

Damaged equipment Image source, Little Rays
Image caption,

Hammocks, tents and chairs were among equipment destroyed by vandals

  • Published

The owner of a family-run nursery school in Surrey said she has been left "heartbroken" after vandals targeted the rural site.

Play equipment at Little Rays Outdoor Learning Pre-School, in Godalming, was 鈥渃ut down and sliced鈥 on the private nature reserve on the Losely Estate.

School owner Pauline Cheeseman estimates it will cost 拢2,500 to replace what was lost.

Ms Cheeseman said in a Facebook post: 鈥淢yself and all the staff are heartbroken.鈥

She has set up a appeal after "not one piece" of equipment could be saved.

Ms Cheeseman said: "What sad, mean spirited people destroy toys for 2 to 5 year olds?

"It鈥檚 hard enough running a very small family business as it is, to then have to find extra funds to replace items that the children loved.

"What is also very worrying is someone walking through the woods with a knife sharp and strong enough to cut through toughened webbing."

As well as its nursery provision, Little Rays offers outdoor learning and a forest school.

Ms Cheeseman runs the site with her two daughters.

She launched a forest school in Godalming as her late husband used to take their children camping in the area.

The school was last year awarded a "good" rating by Ofsted.

The vandalism attack has been reported to Surrey Police.

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