Vandals wreck Denaby Main nursery play area

Little Einsteins in Denaby Main was targeted over the weekend by intruders who destroyed handmade toys and decorations, took drugs in the “cosy shed”, relieved themselves on children’s blankets and smashed up to 100 roof tiles and three skylights.

Nursery manager Stacey Richards condemned the vandals as “mindless” and said she was disappointed police had not gone to the trouble of going out to investigate the crime.

The nursery on School Walk, which was founded seven years ago, has 90 children on the roll, all of whom usually enjoy the outside area.

But it was off-limits on Monday as staff gathered and binned the wrecked toys and craft items..

“We spent more than seven hours clearing up the damage and mess on Monday,

“We have had some very upset children and very upset staff.

“They (the intruders) have left drug paraphenalia in the cosy shed, tried to make a fire and urinated on blankets.

“The garden was in a really bad state, they have completely trashed it.”

Stacey added: “Whoever it was has climbed a 6ft fence to get in or climbed on the roof \_ it’s just mindless.

“We have had to put things we take into the garden into boxes so we can bring them back inside in the evening.”

The dismayed nursery boss said the incident had been reported to the police but she had been told no-one would attend the scene.

“It has been logged on their system but they said if there was no blood there was nothing they could do about it,” she added.

“It’s quite saddening that someone did not come to have a look at what’s happened.”

The vandalism was discovered at 7am and is thought to have happened over the weekend.

Stacey said parents had shared details of the damage on social media and appealed for anyone who could provide a description of the culprits to contact the police.

Insp Dan Mcknight said: “South Yorkshire Police responds to a high demand of different incidents each day and a procedure is in place to individually assess each report, based on the information provided, to identify all possible lines of enquiry and any evidential opportunities. 

“At present, limited lines of enquiry have been established in connection to this incident.

“However, PCSOs will be conducting patrols in the area and anyone with information about the incident is asked to report it via 101 quoting reference number A/132498/2017.

“We are committed to protecting members of our community, identifying offenders and working to bring offenders before the courts. 

“If you have any concerns or would like to report any incidents to police, please call 101 or 999 in an emergency.”