Arson Decimates Nursery

A FIRE, believed to have been started deliberately, has left a nature nursery devastated.
Little Wild Tribe’s base at Hadleigh Country Park was targeted on Saturday, July 11, with flames damaging the Little Wild Wood area off Castle Lane.
Firefighters were called to the site at around 7.20pm and extinguished the blaze by 8pm.
Kelly Guthrie, who founded the nursery in 2019, said the site was a place for “children to learn and love learning in the great outdoors”.
She added that the woodland had been “absolutely decimated” and “ferociously vandalised”.
Ms Guthrie said: “We have worked so hard over the years to develop our Little Wild Woodland into such a phenomenal place, where hundreds of children have explored, learned, built confidence and experienced the freedom of childhood in nature.
“To see it destroyed so needlessly is incredibly difficult.”
She said every path, shelter and learning space had been created with care by the team, who wanted to give children the best possible outdoor experiences.
Ms Guthrie said the nursery, which cares for 35 toddlers each day, has remained open by using other areas while the damaged outdoor learning facilities are out of use.
Since the fire, the children have been making thank-you notes for the firefighters who helped save the rest of the nursery, as well as animals on a nearby farm.
An appeal has been made for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward to help police with their investigation.
Ms Guthrie urged anyone who was in or around Hadleigh Country Park on the evening of the fire and saw anything suspicious to contact Essex Police, adding that even the smallest detail could prove important.
The nursery also thanked the community for its support, with hundreds of families and residents offering help since news of the fire emerged.
Ms Guthrie said: “We have received more kindness than we ever imagined possible.
“We are immensely grateful to every single offer of support.”
Essex Fire and Rescue Service said: “The fire is believed to have been started deliberately.”
The service confirmed that approximately 20 square metres of woodland was damaged.
Picture: The Wild Wood area suffered extensive damage. Pic LWT.
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