A POPULAR day nursery in Christchurch has closed suddenly, leaving many parents without childcare and staff jobless.

Unpaid fees and mounting debts have been blamed for the shock closure.

More than 25 parents turned up at Amethyst Day Nursery on Tuesday morning to drop off their children but were shocked to discover the team of staff standing outside and the doors to the centre locked up.

A notice posted on the door of the lottery-funded SureStart nursery said: "The Nursery has gone bust, due in the major part to the outstanding fees, in excess of £24,000.

"Under legislation once a company has become insolvent it must cease trading with immediate effect.

"Every avenue has been explored but unfortunately no help was available."

Dad Robert Thomas, whose five-year-old daughter, Luca-Rose, has been attending the nursery for three years, said: "I felt really bad for the staff who were oblivious to the situation and have not been paid for all their efforts. All of them are great with the kids.

"But they obviously hadn't been told anything about what had happened and were just left to cope with the fallout. The thing is we've paid our fees up front. I can't see us getting anything back though."

And Karen Robinson, mum of two-year-old twins said: "There was no indication there were any problems with the nursery. We haven't been told anything, only the little information the staff knew.

"I'm a teacher so was a little panic-stricken about what we would do next week but luckily we've managed to get them into the Little Explorers nursery across the road. Others might not be so lucky though."

A Dorset County Council spokesman said the council had received an email from the nursery confirming it had closed.

The spokesman said: "We would advise that if any parents are having difficulty finding nursery places for their children they should contact the Dorset Family Information Service and we can help them find a place. Nobody should find themselves without a place."