MEMBERS of a parent group have started a fund-raiser in a bid to replace equipment destroyed by vandals at a school playground.

Around £5,000 worth of damage was done to facilities at Carleith Primary and Early Learning and Childcare Centre in Duntocher around two weeks ago.

The incident saw a “mud kitchen” damaged, a water table smashed and outdoor blackboards vandalised, with the playground now considered a safety risk.

Now members of Carleith Parent Hub are hoping to raise £1,500 to replace the vandalised equipment.

Janice Morrison helped to start up the JustGiving page on behalf of the group.

She told the Post: “As parents of children within the school, we are horrified that this has happened.

“These items were only approximately 10 weeks old and were used by both the primary school children and the children attending the ELCC.

“We have waited such a long time for improvements to the playground in our wee school, and the children absolutely loved the new items.

“We’re a tiny school and there are less than 80 pupils, so it is quite difficult to raise a decent amount of money.

“We do try and get applications in for different community grants and everything like that, but a lot of the help does come from the parents.

“There is a wider community spirit among local people who are maybe former pupils or parents of pupils and the fund-raiser gives them the opportunity to help out.”

At the time the Post went to print, the fund-raising page had racked up £355.

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Carleith Parent Hub hopes to use some of the cash to improve security at the playground.

Janice added: “We would love to give the children back what they deserve.

“To do this we are hoping that our friends, family and local community will pull together and help us raise these much needed funds.

“Any money raised would be used towards the repair and replacement of the equipment and for any increase in security requirements in the hope that this does not happen again.”

To find out more, or to donate, go to bit.ly/carleithplayground.