A family run nursery in East Lothian has said that they are devastated after thieves allegedly attempted to break into their business.
Argyle Bridge Children's Nursery on Haddington Road in Tranent was reportedly targeted by crooks who ‘completely shattered’ the entrance doors to the nursery.
Jacqueline Robertson, who manages the nursery along with her sister has said that they have been rushing to try to fix the doors so that children will not feel vulnerable when they return on Monday morning.
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The incident took place at Argyle Bridge, which is owned by her parents Helen and Graham Robertson, overnight at the weekend.
Jacqueline has slammed those responsible and says that their priority now is ensuring the children feel safe.
“We reported it to the police first thing this morning after we were contacted by our cleaner to say it had happened,” she said.
“It’s a family run business so myself and my dad went down to check on the property after my mum phoned the police.
“Fortunately both of the damaged doors were still locked so we were confident no one had been into the building.
“We then set about organising for the windows to be replaced as soon as possible, luckily the company East Lothian Glass and Glazing LTD, who we have used in the past and is a family friend, came out to measure up immediately.
“We have boarded them up and cleared up the glass for now to make the nursery safe for the children who will begin arriving at 7.30am tomorrow.
“It seems that over the course of the weekend at least five local businesses have had break-ins or attempted break-ins as well as two other businesses who had been subject to graffiti.
“Our focus now is to repair the damage and reassure our children and families that the nursery is still a safe space to be.
“I hope whoever is doing this is caught soon before more damage is done to the community at a cost to local businesses.”
She added that both ‘doors are completely shattered’ and that both of them had holes straight through the corners closest to the locks.
Thankfully neither door had a key in the back which would have allowed the alleged thieves the opportunity to enter the premises.
“Neither door had the key in the back. I believe if they had, whoever it was would have gone in and stolen items,” she continued.
“Honestly it’s disappointing, I’m not sure what these people hoped to achieve by breaking into a children’s nursery.
“There is nothing of monetary value in there. For us our biggest concern now is making sure our children don’t feel frightened by the event, nursery should be a safe space where they can come to socialise and learn under the care of their teachers and not be frightened that someone might break in!”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "Police enquiries are ongoing following a report of windows smashed at Argyle Bridge Nursery, Haddington Road, Tranent.
"The incident is thought to have occurred sometime between the evening of Friday, 7 July and 9.30 am on Sunday, 9 July 2023."
