'It is soul-destroying' - children's play centre suffers third break-in

A break-in at a popular children’s play centre forced its closure on Monday morning ­— the first day of half-term when the venue usually does a roaring trade.

A breeze block was thrown through the glass door of Leo’s Play Centre, Maltkiln Lane, Newark, after an attempt was made to break the lock with a screwdriver or similar implement.

Two thieves, who were wearing dark clothing, hid their faces from the centre’s security cameras.

They smashed their way in at 1.57am on Monday and were inside for just three minutes.

They escaped with a large amount of cash in small change, which was the centre’s float money.

It was the third break-in in the four years since Leo’s opened.

Owner Tracy Benson, whose desk was ransacked, said the break-ins were soul-destroying and the latest had left her questioning whether to carry on.

“My desk was tipped up and all my personal things scattered about,” she said.

“It made me feel really upset and disheartened to see that someone had just thrown all of my things on to the floor.”

Tracy said Leo’s was a small, independent business that was family-run.

'It is soul-destroying'

“Most of the people who work here are family,” she said.

“This is our busiest week of the year. We can get 200 children through the doors a day so to lose Monday morning meant we lost a lot in takings.

“This is the third time in the four years that we have been open.

“It puts you on a real downer and makes you question whether to carry on. It is soul-destroying.

“We are here for the children. They love Leo’s.

“We make a fuss of everyone, do our bit for the community, and keep our food prices down to the prices of cafés.

“We do our best to make children and their parents happy.”

Leo’s re-opened at lunchtime on Monday after the broken glass was cleared away and the glass in the door replaced.

Nottinghamshire Police has appealed for anyone who saw anything suspicious in the Maltkiln Lane area in the early hours of Monday, or has information about who was responsible for the break-in, to get in touch.

Anyone with information should call 101, quoting incident 99 of October 23, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.