A charity-run nursery has a brand new shed thanks to community donations including £2,000 from a local funeral co-operative.

Bushy Tails Pre-School in Waterlooville put out an appeal for help at the beginning of the year as their old shed had become unsafe and some of the children’s toys were getting damaged.

Bikes had started to rust and it was no longer safe for children to go into the shed and pick out the toys they wanted to play with.

The appeal received an amazing response including a pledge of £2,000 from The Co-operative Funeralcare branches in the area that are part of Southern Co-op.

Ali Davison, Funeral Co-ordinator at The Co-operative Funeralcare in Waterlooville, said: “A lot of people don’t realise that pre-schools like this are registered charities and rely on the help of the donations.

“When we saw their appeal we knew straightaway that we wanted to help so contacted a few of our colleagues who all agreed to make a donation from their branches.

“It is really lovely to see it in place already and the children making good use of it. They are all so happy here. We are glad to have been able to help.”

Around £600 of donations were made via a Go Fund Me page and a further £300 was donated in the pre-school coin jar.

They have also had a few generous donations from local businesses that have helped them to replace the toys that were damaged.

Jane Whiley, Manager at Bushytails, said: “We weren’t sure whether to do an appeal but we are really glad we did as the community support has been amazing.

“I’m grateful for all the help we’ve had including support from one of our mums Kirsty Creighton. We all just want the best for our children so it has been really special to have so much donated.”

Bushytails Pre-School opened 27 years ago and operates out of Springwood Infant School in Springwood Avenue.

A total of £4,000 was donated including £2,000 from The Co-operative Funeralcare branches in Bedhampton, Chichester, Cosham, Cowplain, Emsworth, Felpham, Leigh Park, Liss, Rose Green, Waterlooville, and Widley.

The donations were made as part of Southern Co-op’s community engagement programme ‘Love Your Neighbourhood’ aims to help communities become greener, healthier, safer and more inclusive.

To find out more about Southern Co-op’s commitment to making a difference, click here.