THE ‘HEARTBROKEN’ owner of a children’s stay-and-play group in Rugby has had to temporarily close her business after ‘malicious’ vandals trashed her outdoor play area.
Sophie Winham, who owns Sprogs and Logs in Bilton, says play equipment had been broken and toys ‘damaged beyond repair’.
A crowd-funding campaign has been launched to raise the money Sophie needs to reopen the playground, which is based at Old Laurentians Rugby Club.
Sophie said: “I was absolutely heartbroken to arrive on site to see the damage. To say I’m gutted is an understatement.
“Someone has intentionally entered and vandalised our play space. This isn’t like any previous time – this appears to be malicious and has resulted in a big loss. I am not financially able to carry out the repairs.
“I’m a small business running purely to create happiness and lasting memories for young children – and to find out my hard work has been destroyed is devastating.”
She added her insurance company refused to cover the cost of the damage.
She said: “This is really disappointing as I had previously hoped they’d cover the cost of replacing toys and the money raised would be funding the new fence.”
Leanne Walsgrove, who organised the fund-raising campaign on GoFundMe, said Sophie had ‘put her heart and soul’ into the playgroup to ensure the children of Rugby have ‘the best learning through play opportunities’.
She added: “As a community, and to prevent this happening again, I would love to fundraise to help give Sprogs and Logs a secure fence and replace the broken equipment.
“Let’s stand together and help support this small business and get it back up and running.”
Sophie said she was ‘beyond grateful’.
She added: “I’m absolutely overwhelmed by the incredible generosity shown to us. The love and support from everyone has been truly amazing, and I’m so grateful for every message, share, and donation.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.”
Visit https://tinyurl.com/mr2kud5z to donate to the GofundMe campaign.
