Staff and children at Wimborne Kindergarten in School Lane have been overwhelmed by the support they’ve received from the wider community since their outdoor area was targeted by vandals.

Overnight on Monday 5 July, intruders broke into the kindergarten garden via the log fence surround. Not only were the fencing and garden surrounds broken where they got in, the vandals also broke an outside tap and smashed a children’s bench and wheelbarrow.

Manager Sally Gemmell said this was not the first time the kindergarten had been targeted and it was “upsetting” to arrive at work to find yet more damage.

Sally said: “In the past, we’ve had plants damaged and items removed from the garden, although we’ve usually found these again outside in the lane. It’s disheartening to see when we work so hard to create an lovely environment for the children.”

However, following a post on social media, the kindergarten has been overwhelmed with support.

Dorset Council, which owns the site, will be mending the fence. In the meantime, an ex-parent has offered to try to fix the bench and fence and a mud kitchen and new outdoor toys have been donated.

The Green man has offered to install a CCTV camera to deter would-be vandals in the future. And a current parent has set up a fundraising page, which has already raised in excess of £400. The money will be used to fix the tap and replace the broken toys.

Sally said: “We’ve been completely overwhelmed. We’ve had offers of help from current and past parents, and also from people we don’t even know. It’s amazing to have such a supportive community behind us – we can’t thank everyone enough.”