A NORTHWICH nursery has been given £500 to help replace items stolen during a break-in.

Thieves raided Hartford Old School House Day Nursery and stole a dozen tablets and cash from a charity box in June.

When housebuilder Bellway heard about the break in, they wanted to help and donated the figure.

The cash will help replace some of the technology stolen during the break in including the nursery’s iPads and tablets that are used by the children for interactive learning and play.

“We were really sad to read about the break-in at Hartford Old School House Nursery and to hear that the burglars had caused so much damage and taken almost everything of value,” said sales director Jenny Bell said.

“It has clearly been an unsettling time for the nursery team and the little ones and will take some time to get back to normal.

“We hope our donation can be used to replace some of the tech that is still needed and get them back on track while they get everything sorted.”

Nursery manager Sarah Butler added: “We are really grateful to Bellway for its kind donation; our technical equipment is used daily by all of our children and being without it has been a real loss for them.”

A group of children from the nursery were invited to Bellway’s Rose Meadow development – which is near the School Lane nursery – to collect the cheque and enjoy a tour of the site courtesy of Bellway’s sales advisor Angela Wall and sales manager Annette Kirby.

Sarah continued: “We also had a super visit to Rose Meadow where the children got the opportunity to don mini hard hats and high vis vests and see a real-life construction site.

“They had the chance to ask lots of questions about construction and building and are still talking about their visit days later.”