ONE of Minehead’s longest running children’s nurseries is being forced to close its doors after parents racked up debts of thousands of pounds in unpaid fees.

Bosses at the West Somerset Nursery in King Edward Road remain hopeful that next Friday’s closure will only be temporary while the unpaid bills are pursued by a professional debt collection company.

James Scott, chairman of the management committee, said things could simply not continue as they were.

“We are owed in excess of £18,000 in unpaid nursery fees and some of that debt dates back three or four years.

“It will be recouped as we have gone to a debt control agency but the nursery will shut on September 11.

“Hopefully it will be only be a temporary closure as we are trying to be optimistic . . . the nursery may evolve over time into a slightly different format and if anyone has any ideas we would love to hear them,” Mr Scott said.

The nursery is run as a charity by a voluntary management committee, which in itself has seen membership fall from eight to just two.

Mr Scott has been a committee member for the last 12 months and in that time has helped to introduce a new policy limiting unpaid fees to £1,000 per child.

“It’s very difficult with childcare when someone turns up to leave a child with you and you tell them they owe money, they promise to sort it out and you tend to be more sympathetic when there is a child involved.

“But as a small business we can’t survive on grace and favours.

“It’s sad as it’s one of the longest established nurseries in Minehead – we’re not going bust but the money we are owed has not been forthcoming.

“Hopefully those who owe us money will realise that a lot of this rests at their doors,” Mr Scott said.

The nursery currently has 25 children on its books and five staff.