ALMOST 100 pre-school children could be left out in the cold without a play group from next week.

Three Bears Pre-School have used the hall of St Mary's RC Church on Wimborne Road, Oakdale, for the last 10 years.

But the organisers say temperatures in the hall are now too low and it is too cold for the toddlers to use.

Stephanie Stockley, who runs Three Bears, said: "We had to close for a day just before Christmas because it was just too cold.

"I had to explain to 200 parents at the end of last term that if the temperatures stay the same we might not be able to open in the new year.

"The church has decided this year it can't afford fan heaters, so it's left us with just the radiators which don't generate enough heat."

Mrs Stockley said the temperature in the hall had been lower than the recommended health and safety workplace figure of 16C.

Staff have been keeping the toddlers active and parents have been asked to dress them in extra layers to stay warm.

The play group says it has a contract with the church which states light and heat will be provided, but not to what level.

Father Mark Skelton, priest at St Mary's, said they were doing everything they could to heat the hall sufficiently.

He said: "We are a church hall, not a school, so we haven't got the same capacity for heating.

"We find it cold, so we are trying our best to get the heating up."

He said they were looking into the possibility of installing more radiators in the hall.

Mrs Stockley said they had offered to pay the electricity charges for the use of fan heaters and were waiting for a response from St Mary's.