A THIEF broke into a nursery and stole a petty cash tin containing up to £300.

The Little Angels Nursery in Hall i' th' Wood was targeted in the early hours of Wednesday morning at around 2am.

The offender broke in through a window, which was prised open and damaged and then fled with the money.

Manager of the family run business, Karen Jackson said she felt “physically sick” at the theft.

She added: “We aren’t sure how much was in the tin.

“We put £300 in it at the start of the week but our admin assistant had been off so we hadn’t counted it to see how much had been used.

“It is really bizarre because there were three iPads, worth at least £1,000 and we have laptops and computers as well, but he literally just ran in took the petty cash tin and ran straight back out.

“It makes me physically sick and it has scared me because it is almost like they knew where it was.

“We use that money for nice things for the children and to take them on days out, so for someone to take it from them, is disgusting.”

Following the theft parent Sarah Finlay, whose three-year-old son has been attending the nursery since he was 10-months-old, has launched a crowdfunding page to raise £200 to give back to the nursery.

She said: “They work really hard and it is a family run business.

“They do everything they can for the children, my son loves going there.

“Karen and the team organise lots of day trips for the children and various educational activities that are brought in for them all to enjoy and whoever took this money has hindered that.

“More importantly, it has violated the safety and hard work of the family who run it, the staff and children who all enjoy going there.

“They did not deserve this so that is why I am trying to recoup the money for them that they lost.”

A spokesman for GMP police said that they had viewed CCTV but could not give a description of the offender.

Anyone with information about the incident is to contact police on 101.

To donate to help the nursery go to: http://bit.ly/29Jde03