Parents and teachers at an Oxfordshire primary school are ‘devastated’ after thieves broke into the school's shed and stole the children’s gardening tools.

Wootton St Peter’s School near Abingdon offers children hands on experience growing their own vegetables at the local allotment plot.

Five sheds were broken into at Wootton allotments on Saturday (February 25) but the school’s plot lost the most items.

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Amy Morgan, a parent at the school said: “My daughter is in the reception class and I think all the children were really sad that someone had taken the tools.

“All of the children get involved in growing at the school and last summer they ran a sunflower growing competition.

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“I think that the work at the allotments is a very important part of what they do at the school; it is a great nurturing school.”

A Crowdfunder has been set up to raise money to replace the stolen tools and over £400 has already been donated.

The gardening items were initially purchased by the school through a fundraising effort by the local community.

Diana McNeil is the teaching assistant at Wootton St Peter’s School who oversees the allotment classes.

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She was shocked to find out that someone would take the children’s gardening tools.

Ms McNeil added: “All of the items were named and it is so disappointing that someone would do that to the children.

“The children absolutely love the classes and one of the things that they like the most is that we go to collect all the vegetables after we have grown them and the school cooks made things such as soup.”

“But having said that we have had lots of support with so many people saying ‘what can we do to help?’

“The response has been amazing.”

To donate to the Crowdfunder page, click here.

Thames Valley Police has been contacted for comment.