CHILDREN and parents were left devastated by a fire that ripped through Hullavington Village hall destroying a playgroup's home and £10,000 of equipment.

But yesterday the Happy Caterpillars pre-school was given a life-line by the village school which has offered it the use of a classroom.

The group, which has 30 children on its roll, used the hall every week-day morning before the blaze gutted the wooden framed building.

Parents were distraught when they turned up the next morning to see their venue a burnt-out shell.

Three-year-old Lydia Cross, who had to have her legs amputated below the knee after suffering from septicaemia resulting from the HIB virus, joined the pre-school less than a month ago.

The brave youngster celebrated her birthday in the hall on her first day at Happy Caterpillars and her mother, Jodie, was shocked to hear the building had burnt down.

"I just can't believe it," she said. "It is such a shame. Lydia looks forward to it so much. It was the longest time she had her new legs on because she wanted to walk like the rest."

Hullavington School offered the group the use of a classroom. And the pre-school will move into the school on Monday.

Pre-school leader Jebbie Hewitt said: "It has been a nightmare. We didn't think we would be able to open again until after Easter."

The pre-school also had an estimated £10,000 of equipment stored in the hall, some of which they hope will be salvageable, though a lot was damaged by smoke and some destroyed by the fire.

Ms Hewitt said: "We need to make sure it is safe."

The fire brigade is investigating but is not believed to be treating the fire as suspicious.

The site has been fenced off and the building needs to be demolished fairly quickly as it is in danger of collapsing.

David Hunt, chairman of the village hall management committee, said it might be replaced with a stone structure, which would probably cost more than the £200,000 the previous building, built in 1971, was insured for.

He hopes jazz sensation Jamie Cullum, who played some of his first gigs in the old hall, will play at the new venue.

"We have not heard anything but if he wants to come and play a concert that would be great," he said.

In the short-term, though, Mr Hunt said an alternative to the hall had to be found. Villagers and user groups met on Tuesday night and there was an emergency meeting of the village hall committee planned for last night.

There is a proposal for a temporary building and the church has offered room for various organisations.

At the initial meeting, on Tuesday, Mr Hunt said emergency measures were in place. He said: "We have cancelled standing orders connected to the hall, such as electricity and all our supplies are now turned off."

"We are waiting for quotes from demolition companies. These will then go to our insurance company who will proceed with the work and put things in motion for the building of a new hall.

"Some regular hall users have been in touch with other halls in the area and many have been offered temporary use of them at reduced village rates."

Ms Hewitt reported that Melksham-based Wiltshire Play Resource Centre had donated lots of materials. "So we can get the children playing and involved in activities at the school next week," she said. "We are very grateful. Now, with our temporary home at the school, we'll be up and running again."