A CHILDREN’S nursery school was evacuated on Thursday (April 25) afternoon after a neighbour’s bonfire reportedly caused a fire at Grade II-listed Hale Methodist Church.

The manager at Greenways Nursery School, for children aged two and a half up to five years old, said seven children were inside the hall when the fire broke out at around 2.30pm.

Eye-witness Davinia Walder, a worshipper and member of the church council, told the Herald the fire began when debris from the bonfire set light to the nursery’s sheds in the church garden. It then spread to a nearby tree and on to the roof of the Victorian church overlooking Hale Green.

Five fire engines attended the fire, two from Surrey Fire and Rescue and three from Hampshire, with firefighters using ladders to douse the blaze through the church’s roof.

Luckily no-one was injured. But the nursery manager Julie Christian was visibly upset after being shown inside the building at around 4.40pm, telling bystanders "it’s just a shell, there’s nothing left".

A Surrey Police officer also attended. Full story and reaction in next week's Herald.