Nursery children in Bolton have been coming up with ideas to 'catch the bad guys' after yobs broke into their garden after hours and vandalised it.
The outdoor garden, for children with additional education needs, at Grosvenor Nursery School and Day Care Centre, Kearsley, has been described as a 'happy place' for those who use it.
Vandals rolled up the astroturf and left it in the corner of the garden and damaged the willow fence matting. According to head Sue Pounds, some children were left horrified.
She said: "The outdoor play space belongs to children with additional needs so they probably don't fully understand the implications of what's happened.
"The children in the main nursery were taken to have a look and were just horrified.
"The parents are very upset as well, one parent described the outdoor space as their son's 'happy place'. Why deprive children of that?
"Some of the children came up with ideas to catch the bad guys which was quite sweet."
Mrs Pounds said the incident must have happened between the cleaners leaving at 8pm on Tuesday and the site manager arriving at 7am on Wednesday.
Read more of today's top stories
A neighbour reported hearing a disturbance at 11.20pm.
Since posting about the incident on Facebook, Mrs Pounds has been inundated with people offering to help, but due to insurance she has had to turn most of them down.
She added: "The response has been overwhelming. The amount of people, including grandparents, who volunteered to come help.
"Unfortunately the insurers have advised not to let anyone do any work for free because if there was an accident along the line, school would be liable. It's a shame when there's been so much good will.
"They've broken the willow matting fencing and a company has offered to replace that, which we can do. It's a relief because that would have cost quite a lot out of the school budget and we're already living on a wing and a prayer."
It is the second school to report a break-in in Bolton, within just a matter of days. Earlier this week, Bolton St Catherine's Academy reported thousands of pounds worth of damage by intruders.
The M.E.N.has contacted Greater Manchester Police for comment.
