Nursery outrage
Police are on the hunt for heartless vandals who trashed a nursery’s much-loved garden causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
The yobs left a trail of destruction over the weekend at Little Scholars Nursery in Whitehills.
Heartbroken staff discovered the carnage on Sunday with a greenhouse, sheds and play equipment destroyed.
The vandals also threw paint all over the garden and daubed obscene messages all over walls and windows.
Depute manager Margaret Green said:“This has been utterly devastating to ourselves. So much effort has been put into our garden and our eco-team have been working so tirelessly on our planting area which has now been left unusable and beyond recognisable.”
Cruel vandals have left a trail of destruction, trashing a nursery’s beloved garden and causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.
The vandals struck over the weekend at Little Scholars nursery in Whitehills and cops are appealing for help to hunt them down.
Heartbroken staff – who believe they have captured the culprits on CCTV – were stunned to discover their greenhouse and sheds smashed, flower and strawberry beds and planters destroyed, play equipment covered in paint and wrecked and obscene language daubed over the building.
But defiant parents have vowed to fight back and organise fundraisers to restore the garden to its former glory, setting up a JustGiving page to support their efforts.
Depute manager Margaret Green told the News: “Little Scholars Nursery, which works so hard to help support underprivileged children through Clyde 1’s Cash for Kids Appeal and other charities, has been dealt a low blow of our own with what appears to have been a weekend of utter wanton destruction.
“At some point a costly amount of damage was inflicted on our much loved and cared-for garden.
“This has been utterly devastating to ourselves.
“So much effort has been put into our garden and our eco team have been working so tirelessly on our planting area, which has now been left unusable and beyond recognisable.
“It beggars belief that anyone would do this to us.
“When the kids came in on Monday it was such a lovely day but we had to keep them inside because of the mess and try and cover the obscene language painted on windows and walls.
“The children and the parents and all the team are so upset by this. Many of us were practically in tears when we saw just how much of our hard work had been trashed.”
Angry mum Victoria Stephen from Lindsayfield, whose son Angus attends the nursery, said: “All the parents are absolutely furious and disgusted by this.
“So much hard work and effort has been put in to make the garden such a success.
“It was a beautiful space for the children to enjoy so it’s heartbreaking something so awful has happened.”
Scores of dismayed parents have taken to social media to vent their anger.
PC Lucie Black of the safer communities team in East Kilbride said: “Crimes like this are particularly abhorrent as they are damaging to the community as a whole.
“They have a harmful effect our children and prevent them from playing and making use of their outdoor space.
“Our officers are making it their absolute priority to trace those responsible as the cost of repair is expected to be substantial.”
She asked anyone with information to call police on 101.