A NURSERY hoping to expand is locked in a desperate race against time as parents struggle to move their new classroom and raise the funds to furnish it.

A NURSERY hoping to expand is locked in a desperate race against time as parents struggle to move their new classroom and raise the funds to furnish it.

Scallywags pre-school, based at Wattisham childcare centre, is hoping to use a portable building to extend the centre for younger children.

Scallywags, which has around 50 children in two classes aged from two to five, needs to expand to cater for the growing number of one to two year-olds.

It has a portable building ready and waiting to be relocated and refurbished for this use, currently based onWattisham Airfield, it just needs to be moved to the Community Centre.

A team of Royal Engineers have offered to move the classroom before August but the school still needs to raise another £6,000 to make the building usable before the next school term.

Lindsay Warner, a committee member of Scallywags, said: “We are desperate to expand the school to be able to offer much needed childcare facilities to children under two.

“However, we already need to raise a large amount of money if we wish to complete that move by September. The engineers are able to move the building but it needs a lot of work to redecorate it and fit it out ready for use. It is only really a shell.”

It has taken Scallywags almost a year to first get official approval and then come up with a plan for when the engineers can move the building.

Ms Warner said: “Currently we are still in portable buildings, which is not ideal, but we have to make the most of what we have.

“We are trying to raise £6,000 to buy children's toys, cots, bedding and bottle sterilising equipment to get the portacabin up and running.”

A large number of the children are from service families but the childcare centre is outside the Airfield's security fence so anyone can send their children.

This Sunday Scallywags is holding a Fun Day from 11am to 3pm with the main event being a mass balloon release at 2pm.

There will also be bouncy castles, a treasure map, face painting raffle and a mini assault course.

If you wish to buy a ticket for the balloon race for £1 each, please contact the Scallywags office on 01449 728928 or 01449 728263.