Fire at nursery school in Bognor

Firefighters quickly dealt with the fire at Stepping Stones nursery, South Way.

Manager of the nursery Lorraine Mellers said it would be a while before they moved back into the building, but in the meantime they will be based in temporary accommodation at the Arena sports centre just across the road.

She said: "There was just smoke billowing out of the side of the roof '“ there were no flames. The fire brigade put it out before it got too bad.

"A couple of the firemen came and spoke to the children afterwards and the children thanked them for putting out the fire.

"There was a real community spirit '“ everybody helped out including staff from the school and the Arena.

"The firemen complimented our staff for getting all the children out so quickly."

The building, which caught fire about 10.10am on Friday (September 19) was in use at the time by around 25 children aged two to four. The adjoining baby unit was also evacuated as a precaution.

The fire is believed to have started because of an electrical fault. Children were able to go back to the nursery yesterday after staff worked on Monday and Tuesday to move equipment to the new classroom.