MORE than 50 children have been forced out of their nursery and a special pensioners' lunch had to be cancelled after a church community hall was set on fire.
MORE than 50 children have been forced out of their nursery and a special pensioners' lunch had to be cancelled after a church community hall was set on fire.
The vandals struck during the night, causing major damage to Hope Hall at Baillieston Evangelical Church, on the eve of its 50th anniversary celebrations.
They got into the hall through a window before setting the building on fire.
Fire crews tackled the blaze at 1am yesterday after the alarm was raised.
Police are treating the incident as wilful fireraising and carried out door to door inquiries in an effort to trace the culprits.
The hall is used by a number of community groups, including the nursery, while senior citizens were due to attend a lunch celebrating 50 years of the building yesterday.
Youngsters who attend the Coconut Corner Childcare Centre have had to be relocated to a hall at nearby St Andrew's Church after its minister, Reverend Alisdair MacLeod-Mair, stepped in to help.
A spokeswoman for the nursery said: "We were given the use of another church hall, but we don't know what is going to happen to our own.
"Some of the children were really upset."
Church member Tom Gillespie said: "We try to spend our time serving the community and that is one of the biggest disappointments about what has happened. We are all a bit stunned.
"We have insurance but we do not know how much it will cover.
I think most people were just glad no one was hurt."
Detective Sergeant Roland Craig said: "This despicable and irresponsible act will deprive local people of a very important resource for some time.
"In fact, senior citizens in the area were due to hold a lunch there to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the building of the hall. This has now been cancelled."
Police are appealing for anyone with information about the fire to call Shettleston CID on 0141 532 4800 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.
