Edinburgh fire crews rush to primary school after vandals torch nursery’s community garden

Vandals last night set fire to the community garden of an Edinburgh primary school’s early years nursery.

Police and fire crews were called to Royal High Primary School, on Northfield Broadway, at around 8.43pm on Tuesday evening (October 11).

The community garden, which had been set alight, has been targeted by vandals on several occasions recently.

One local, whose child attends the nursery, said: "The children had raised flower beds to grow their own vegetables but all of them have now been ruined.

Police and fire crews were called to Royal High Primary, on Northfield Broadway, at around 8.45pm after reports of a blaze broke out on Tuesday evening (October 11).

"They have also burned down all the plastic furniture and destroyed the fencing around the land."

Royal High Primary’s head teacher, Anna Hazel-Dunn, said in an email to parents: “The team worked really hard from early this morning to clean up the mess in preparation for the children coming in today.

We have had to cordon off part of the garden but have organised for the children to come in and use the gym hall as well as making use of the wildlife area.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 10.25pm on Tuesday, 11 October, police received a report of damage to play equipment earlier that evening outside an address on Northfield Broadway, Edinburgh

“Officers will speak to the reporter to gather more information on this incident.”

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: "We were alerted at 8.43pm on Tuesday, 11 October to reports of a fire in the open at Northfield Broadway, Edinburgh.

"Operations Control mobilised one appliance to the scene to extinguish a number of tyres alight.

"There were no reported casualties."