Thousands raised after nursery burnt out in major fire on Newport industrial estate

  • A video from the scene shows flames billowing into the air

Thousands of pounds has been raised for a nursery destroyed in a large fire on an industrial estate in Newport.

More than £2,000 has been donated so far to the Wibli Wobli Nursery, a Welsh-medium nursery which was completely destroyed by the blaze on Sunday, 14 January.

It is after a GoFundMe page was set up to help following the fire.

Crews are working to dampen down any flames and to tidy up the scene. Credit: ITV Wales

The page reads: "I am trying to help Natasha and the team at Wibli Wobli Nursery because of the very sad news that the nursery has burnt down last night in a fire. The nursery has only been running for about a year and has just had a glowing CIW inspection.

"It's such a sad time for everyone and raising some funds will take the pressure off Natasha and the team a little."

The nursery had just received a "Good" rating in its first inspection last week, having been open less than a year.

Another nursery, Tots Play Cardiff North said Wern House was the company's head office and hosted classes for toddlers three days a week.

A local bakery, advertising the funding page, said: "Thoughts are also with all the other business that have been affected by this. The whole community is behind you all."

The fire started shortly before 8.50pm at one of the units on the estate, with the first call made to the South Wales Fire and Rescue Service at 8.45pm.

At the height of the blaze, there were more than 75 firefighters and tactical officers tackling the fire.

A joint investigation into the cause of the blaze has been launched by the police and fire service, with people from both services attending the scene.

One video from the scene shows flames billowing into the air near the Tiny Rebel Brewery.

The brewery released a statement saying their business had not been affected.

A Gwent Police spokesperson said: "Wern Industrial Estate, Newport is currently closed. Please avoid the area if possible and find alternative routes for your journey."

Christian Hadfield, Head of Risk Reduction at South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said: "Our Joint Fire Control promptly mobilised appliances from South Wales, and the incident was scaled up.

"This is a mixed-use industrial unit that was fully involved in fire.

Emergency services are still at the scene, with more than 75 firefighters and tactical officers there at the height of the blaze. Credit: ITV Wales

"There were no injuries or casualties.

"We had 8 pumps, 5 water bowsers, 2 Aerial Platforms, Incident command unit [and the] Environmental Unit."

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Mr Hadfield added: "Police assisted fire crews in traffic management as the Fire Service tackled the blaze.

"At the height of the incident there were over 75 fire-fighters and tactical officers in attendance.

The nursery which was on the first floor of the building was completely destroyed just days after receiving a "Good" rating from inspectors. Credit: ITV Wales

"The incident slowly scaled down from 0230, as crews made progress to extinguish the fire in specific fire sectors.

"Crews will remain in attendance, dampening down and making up the area before leaving the scene.

The fire was close to the Tiny Rebel brewery, although the business said it had not been affected by the blaze. Credit: Media Wales

"A joint fire investigation will commence to establish the cause of the fire and will be carried out by Gwent Police and South Wales Fire & Rescue service.

"We would like to remind our business community to ensure they have a current fire risk assessment and act on any significant findings."

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At the time of the fire, local residents were advised to "keep windows and doors closed" because of the smoke.

Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and Natural Resources Wales were also at the scene.

It remains unclear whether more than one building has been affected.

There are no reports of injuries.