A pre-school faces a race against time to raise enough money or face closing down by Christmas.

Broad Town pre-school, near Royal Wootton Bassett, has been caring for toddlers for more than 40 years.

But unless the nursery raises £6,000 quickly, it will have to close at Christmas.

The school lost key qualified staff at the end of last term, and now only open on reduced hours. Therefore, it has reduced funding.

John Kent, the newly-appointed chair of the pre-school committee, said: “I’m trying to navigate us out of a sticky situation.

“We’re on a knife edge until I can stable the ship, I don’t know which way it's going but we won’t go down without a fight.

Swindon Advertiser:

“Parents around here are going to find it very difficult to find pre-schools here.

“We can’t go down without a fight and that means screaming to the community to see if they can back us.

“This has taken over my life and I wasn’t expecting this once I saw how dire the situation was.

“The kids and the staff is what makes it magical for me.”

John’s son, Patrick, who is now 7, went to the pre-school and is part of the reason John is so desperate to keep it going.

As well as an immediate injection of cash, the school needs £30,000 to give it "breathing space to fund staff and our service to the end of this academic year", its GoFundMe page says.

One mum, Hannah Clark, who is also on the pre-school's committee has a 2-year-old daughter, Maisy who attends the pre-school.

Hannah also went to pre-school and the neighbouring, Broad Town primary school when she was younger.

The 37-year-old said: “It is unsettling for my little one and also for the staff, they’re unsure if they are going to have a job in January.

“It would be such a shame for it to shut down.

“It is really unsettling and certainly don’t want it to close.

“It is a part of the community, it is only a small pre-school and it is at the heart of the village.

“If it closes, it impacts everything around it.

“There is nowhere else in the area.

“If we lose it, it’s going to have a massive impact on our family and all of the other families."

You can support Broad Town pre-school here: bit.ly/3ZGoUIw