Children at an Oxford pre-school are being forced to stay indoors after their garden fence was ripped out and furniture stolen.

The thieves, who broke into the play area at Shepherd's Hill Pre-School, in Blackbird Leys, left broken fence stakes sticking out of the ground, making it too dangerous for children to play outside.

A children's bench and a wooden picnic table were also stolen during the raid, which happened some time between Thursday evening and Friday morning.

A playhouse at the pre-school in Nightingale Avenue was a regular target for vandals during 2002, but there have been no break-ins since extra security fencing was installed two years ago.

The cost of replacing the stolen equipment -- worth about £200 -- puts an extra strain on the cash-strapped pre-school which is threatened with closure because of funding difficulties.

Staff and children have been fundraising throughout the year to ensure the pre-school manages to survive a drop in roll numbers, caused by recent changes to admissions in Oxfordshire which means that children are starting school earlier.

Manager Jo Rooney believes the theft was the work of adults, who systematically planned the raid and did not wreck the garden, as vandals have done in the past.

She said: "We just want to shame those responsible and make them feel guilty that the children now don't have space to play.

"I'm just really disappointed that an adult could do such a thing. You would think they would know better and show more respect for pre-school children.

"We had made the garden into a really good area, which other pre-schools would come and visit.

"The fencing was used to divide the garden into different sections and the children used to sit on the picnic bench to do their drawing.

"It's going to take a lot of fundraising to replace the equipment."

Anyone with information can call Oxford police on 08458 505505 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.