Community fundraising for storm-damaged school library

Philippa Moore (L) Tim Rylatt and Amanda Hebden (R) are working to restore the library

A fund-raising campaign has been launched to rebuild a school library after it was damaged in a storm.

On Friday, heavy rain "quickly overwhelmed" the drainage system at Tewkesbury C of E Primary School in Gloucestershire before flooding into the building, damaging books, furniture and carpets.

The school's Parents, Teachers and Friends Association (PTFA) has raised more than £4,800 to help restore the library, since a fundraiser was launched on Saturday.

Philippa Moore from the PTFA said: “The support from the community has been amazing - they’ve come together and it just shows that standing together, we can do amazing things."

Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue received a "large volume of calls" following heavy rain and thunderstorms on Friday.

Leisure centres, a recycling centre and other schools reported "significant" flood damage on Saturday morning.

'Worse for wear'

Tim Rylatt, the headteacher, said the library is the "heartbeat of the school" and he was "gutted" to see the extent of the damage.

The space was recently redeveloped with new furniture, books and artwork, but will now need repairing and replacing.

“It should be a really warm, comforting place to come in and get lost in books.

"That was the aim of the library, but now it’s looking a bit worse for wear."

Mr Rylatt estimates the cost of fixing everything will amount to between £12,000 and £15,000.

The building was damaged in a storm on Friday

Ms Moore said the PFTA has had a "crazy couple of days" gathering support for the cause, but has seen an "overwhelming" response.

"Local businesses have been amazing.

"We’ve had loads of offers of people donating books which is really important.

"It’s not just the money side of things to help rebuild and refurnish - it’s the offer of the books and time," she added.

Amanda Hebden, who is also part of the PFTA, said: “We’re always trying to do our bit to help out and to make the school a fantastic place that it is for our children.

"As soon as we heard what had happened we knew that we had to do something."