Devastated staff at an Aberdeen pre-school have spoken out in the wake of repeated attacks by “nasty and spiteful” vandals.
Time and again Oldmachar Community Pre-school in Bridge of Don has been targeted, pushing the team there to crisis point.
The most recent incident took place on Monday evening, when its summer house was broken into.
Beanbags were ripped open and toys and furniture trashed beyond the point where they can be saved.
The “beloved” summer house is now out of bounds for children – who return today after the summer holidays – until it can be fixed.
It was the fifth time the nursery has been targeted this year – having only just cleaned-up in the aftermath of a visit from vandals at the beginning of the holidays.
Staff member Barbara Wood told the Press and Journal she had stayed silent until now but she and her colleagues had finally run out of patience.
Police met with staff yesterday to discuss next steps.
“We’re at our wits’ end and getting to the point where we don’t know what to do,” Miss Wood said.
“When I first saw the place on Monday I could have cried.
“I just thought ‘oh my god, how are we going to clear this up?’.
“It has caused major upset, especially when we are looking forward to welcoming our children for the start of the new term.
“I haven’t wanted to publicise what has been going on but I’ve just had enough now.
“As a charity we literally have to fundraise for every single thing we have.”
During the attacks, Miss Wood said vandals had repeatedly damaged a storage unit, kept outdoors due to a lack of space within the pre-school.
She said it cost between £70 and £100 to carry out repairs.
The pre-school may now have to consider investing in potentially costly new security systems to protect its property.
One positive to come out of the sorry situation is the level of support shown by the local community, which Miss Wood said she had been “blown away” by.
The nearby Tesco Extra store has offered to donate toys to replace those damaged by the vandals.
And a local joiner was at the nursery yesterday to discuss fixing the summer house as quickly as possible to allow the children to use it before the weather gets too cold.
Anyone with any information that could assist the police in their inquiries is urged to call them on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.