A MELKSHAM pre-school could be forced to close because their building is too unsafe for children.

Unless emergency work is carried out to fix problems with mice, exposed wiring and inadequate toilet facilities, six members of staff and more than 30 children may not be able to return to Canberra pre-school next term.

While disabled facilities were being improved, they were forced to move out of the Canberra building, which is also used as a youth centre, and into a nearby prefabricated block, known as the white building.

Staff were told they would not be able to move back into their former site because, under government guidelines, the youth service needed it to provide daytime facilities for 13 to 19 year olds.

Special education needs co-ordinator Gabrielle Bidmead said: "One of

our goals as a pre-school is to get children to dress and undress independently and maintain their personal hygiene but they cannot even go to the toilet by themselves in the white building because of raised thresholds, heaters which they could poke their fingers through and old fashioned flushes which are too high for them to reach.

"We would have liked some sort of transition period which would have enabled us to go back to the Canberra building until the white building was brought up to scratch."

Pre-school chairman Adrian Hart said they were told they could return until they received a letter two days before the end of term.

He said: "The accommodation provided in the white building is considerably below Ofsted standards, and although we were granted permission by Ofsted to use it as a temporary measure, there is an extensive list of works that would need to be carried out for us to continue operating as a pre-school on a permanent basis."

Supervisor Pam Hillman said the school, which is a registered charity, could not afford to cover the costs of the repair work and ruled out a move to a building in another part of the town.

"I feel absolutely gutted. We have been in the Canberra building for nearly 26 years and felt we deserved more notice," she said.

Pre-school staff, the youth service and a childcare development officer from Wiltshire County Council attended an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the options.

Youth development co-ordinator Tony Nye said: "Once we know what the issues are with the white building we will be able to work together and move forward to ensure the pre-school can carry on delivering the good work they are doing."