Blaze-hit Telford nursery gets £10,000 helping hand from its neighbours

A Telford nursery, which was left devastated last month when its premises were destroyed in a major blaze, is celebrating after receiving a £10,000 donation from its neighbours.

Halesfield’s Day Nursery’s Donna Smith and Helen Childs with Olivia Clyne and Tatum-Rae Gibson and Bresblock’s Andrew Huxley

The dramatic fire completely destroyed Halesfield Day Nursery’s playground which was full of wooden huts and playhouses as well as sand trays, furniture and toys.

But thanks to a £10,000 donation by its kind-hearted neighbours, Besblock, the nursery is now able to get on with renovations ready to open back up in September.

Concrete manufacturers Besblock were also affected by the fire at the Halesfield 23 industrial estate in June.

Some of the destroyed equipment at Halesfield Day Nursery

“There was widespread fire damage to a lot of our buildings,” said managing director Andrew Huxley.

“We lost the works canteen, as well as the parts warehouse and a lot of stock was destroyed.

"We were looking at a six-figure bill.”

Mr Huxley, whose dad John started the business on the same site back in 1972, said that he was devastated by the impact of the fire on his long-running family firm but that his heart went out to the other business on the site which had suffered too.

Impact

“We were so sad to learn the major impact the fire had on our neighbours at the nursery,” he said.

“It’s been a tough year for us all, but especially the staff there who have been looking after key workers’ children throughout the coronavirus lockdown.

“We knew we had to help them get back on their feet somehow.”

The £10,000 donation has been used to get brand-new soft pour flooring outside and will also go towards a full outdoor learning experience for the children including an outdoor classroom.

Nursery manager Helen Childs said: “We were completely overwhelmed by Besblock’s donation – it’s so very kind of them.

“Without the support from Andrew and his team, who knows when we would have gathered the funds to start rebuilding the outdoor space.

“Thanks to them, we’ll be able to offer our children a full outdoor learning experience in September, which is a total game-changer for us.

“Things are definitely looking up and we can’t wait to welcome our new children that will be starting in September and for them to get to use the new space, too.”

Besblock has given away more than £50,000 to charities in the last five years.

The firm also sponsors Newport Rugby Club, Shropshire Cricket Club and Shropshire Disabled cricket club.