A THURNSCOE nursery will close next month leaving parents with a battle to find alternative childcare.

They found out last week that the Goosygander Nursery, attached to Gooseacre Primary School, will shut on April 17 due to a lack of funding.

Parents say they will struggle to find a different nursery as there is one in Thurnscoe that is already full and another only has a few spare places.

One parent, who didn't want to be named, has a four year old daughter who has attended Goosygander since she was 18 months old and praised staff for the effort they put into the nursery.

She said: "Some parents are going to have to pack in work because they can't find adequate childcare. It is diabolical that we have only had five weeks notice about the closure."

A council spokesperson said the nursery opened as part of the government's Neighbourhood Nursery Initiative and received three years of revenue funding. After that it was expected to be self sustaining from fee income.

They added: "Unfortunately, this has not happened and it has been running at a loss for some time. Therefore, the school governors took the decision to close the provision. Parents were given notice on March 13 that the nursery will close on April 17."

Parents wanting help in finding alternative childcare can contact the council's Families Information Service by phoning 08000 345340 or texting 07624809924.