We won't be beaten by fire, says nursery owner

The owner of a children's nursery destroyed by fire says she is determined to bounce back and get the site back up and running within weeks.

The blaze, in the early hours of 10 March, engulfed two converted barns at Tigers Day Nurseries on Turnpike Road, Thatcham, Berkshire.

Despite the heartbreak of 30 years of "hard work and sweat just gone up in smoke", nursery founder Alison Huntley said: "We won't be beaten... we've got to keep going. Never, never give up."

The nursery has temporarily reopened at its former site 10 miles (16km) away in Theale while modular buildings are put in place at Thatcham. They are expected to open to children in mid‑April.

Huntley said she arrived at the nursery - for children aged from three months to five years - in the early hours to see "massive flames".

"It was absolutely huge. There was about six fire engines... it was just massive, I have never seen anything like it," she told the BBC.

"I started thinking about the parents who would soon arrive - what would they do? They would need to get to work. Then I thought about the staff arriving too. It was all a bit of a rush going through my mind."

As the day went on and the extent of the fire was revealed, she said: "It was difficult for everybody to process 30 years of hard work and sweat just gone up in smoke."

Thanking parents and staff for their support she said they had been able to get back up and running so fast because the team at the nursery "have all mucked in... it has been a real team effort".

She added she still did not know what caused the fire.

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service said an investigation was yet to start due to concerns over the structural safety of the converted barns.

Checks to the outside of the buildings had not shown any indications the fire was deliberate. No injures were reported.

Huntley said: "I've got a saying 'you never never give up, you've got to keep going' and that is what I am determined to do."