Staff at a Glasgow nursery have shared their heartbreak and devastation after vandals set fire to outdoor play equipment.
Firebugs struck Hamiltonhill Learning Centre, in the north of the city, on Wednesday, November 16 at 9pm causing extensive damage to two sheds containing toys and specialist equipment, reports the Daily Record.
The majority of the play area was burned to the ground and the once robust storage units collapsed into a blackened, smoky mess.
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Frances Stokes, Head of Centre, told the Record: "The fire took hold within our baby room and outdoor garden area where very young babies play. We only developed the area over summer and spent a lot of money on it so it's heart-breaking that this has happened.
"We have our own gate which leads from the nursery into our very own allotment. Community payback spent weeks cutting down trees and grass and creating polytunnels. The kids won't be able to use this area at all now.
"We live in an area of very high deprivation. A lot of the kids live in high rise or tenement flats so the outdoor space meant a lot to them. We spent a long time trying to get grant funding for these structures, and we raised some of the money ourselves, buying one piece of equipment here, another bit there. It's just a nightmare."
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "Around 10.10am on Thursday, 17 November, police were called to a report of damage in Ellesmere Street, Glasgow. Officers will be speaking to the reporter to gather more details.
"Anyone with information should contact 101 quoting reference number 0843 of 17 November."
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