Play area where school 'poured heart and soul' smashed

A play area where school staff poured their "heart and soul" has been destroyed, leaving children devastated, a head teacher has said.

The facility, at Roseberry Primary and Nursery School in Newfield, near Chester-le-Street, had a mud kitchen, mini golf course, play baths and fire pit.

But head teacher Emma Dunn said staff came in on Tuesday to find broken toys and some of the equipment "smashed to pieces".

"We poured our heart and soul into it to make it the best that it can be for our children," she said. "It's really upsetting to see."

Dunn said thousands of pounds had been invested into the play area, but at the moment the school did not have any spare money to replace any of the equipment.

"All the children are devastated because they absolutely love going on the field and it's the best time of their day," she said.

"I've been at this school for 28 years and I can't remember anything like that ever happening before."

Dunn said the school did not have the resource to install CCTV cameras around the field because the area was too large.

A fundraiser has been set up to help with repair costs.

The play area had previously achieved an Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) Platinum Award and was due to be assessed again soon.

However, this has now been delayed until next year.

"It's really disappointing for us that all the hard work that we've put into that has been just completely destroyed," Dunn said.

Durham Police said inquiries were ongoing and asked anyone with information to get in touch.

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