Staff at an Oxford playgroup arrived to find a scene of devastation after thieves struck overnight.

Raiders smashed a window to get into the hall at St Francis's Church in Hollow Way, Cowley, scattering broken glass all over the floor.

The damage was discovered when staff turned up yesterday. They found the burglars had made off with a video recorder, although they had abandoned a television in their haste to get away.

Sandy Culshaw, one of the assistants at the group, which caters for up to 24 pre-school children a day, said the discovery had left children feeling "gutted".

She said: "There was a tape of Disney songs in the recorder which was a big favourite with the children.

"They even took the toaster we use to make the children's morning snacks.

"But we think they must have been disturbed, to have left the TV behind."