CHILDREN have been left heartbroken after thieves stole a greenhouse — which had taken them a year of fundraising to pay for.

Youngsters at St James’s Primary School in Daisy Hill have held a range of activities over the past 12 months to raise about £500 to pay for the greenhouse and to fill it with plants.

But they were devastated when they arrived at school yesterday morning to find their greenhouse had been stolen. Thieves also went on a wrecking spree, ripping up the plants inside the greenhouse and throwing them all over the school garden.

The greenhouse was used by the school’s youngest children — aged four, five and six — to learn about healthy eating and to grow their own food.

They also grew flowers, which they planted around the school building, in Hindley Road.

The children, with the help of the Parents, Teachers and Friends Association, raised more than £500 to buy the gardening equipment and plants.

Headteacher Annie Poole condemned the thieves who ruined months of hard work by her pupils.

She said: “The children are crestfallen. They have worked really hard to fundraise for it and it’s very special because we’re trying to be an ecoschool.

Now it’s just gone.

“I think it is incredibly sad that someone would do this.

“If they brought it back then it would be a wonderful lesson to the children, because that is one of the lessons we teach in school.

“If you make a mistake and do something wrong, then it is okay if you make amends.”

The strengthened plastic greenhouse is about three feet wide and four feet long and tall enough for an adult to stand inside.

It cost about £50, with the rest of the money being spent on plants and tools. It housed tomatoes and other vegetables and flowers.

The thieves also broke into a garden shed and stole a tent that the children used for outdoor play.

Sgt Danny Brophy, of the Bolton West Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “It is quite a big thing for someone to take, so someone has probably seen or heard something.

“If anyone knows anything about it they should call us.”

Anyone with information can contact police on 0161 8725050 or 0800 555111.