PARENTS have been left angry after hearing that their Whitleigh nursery is to close leaving many without child care.

Whitleigh Wise Owls, which caters for children from babies up to 19 years old, will shut all but its care for three and four-year-olds on July 22, leaving about 15 people without jobs.

The director of Wood View Learning Community which oversees the local authority child care facility has apologised, saying he was "deeply disappointed" by the move.

John Butcher said the requirements of public sector employment meant wages and pensions were far higher than in the private sector which they competed against. It wasn't "financially viable" to remain open, he said.

But parents said they were given just seven weeks notice at the closure, with many concerned about putting their children elsewhere.

Mother Emma Ward, who has four children, including baby twins, was due to go back to work as a teaching assistant in November. She said: "This has come as a shock and has left a lot of people in the lurch. Depending on whether or not I can find new child care will make a difference to my decision to go back to work."

Nursery nurse at the centre, Yasmin Shaw, faces losing her job as well as having to find new care for her 13-month-old daughter.

"The reason my daughter is cared for here is because I trust the staff. I'm scared to move her as I know them all really well," she said.

Mother-of-three Kerry Ramsell said she was particularly worried to move her children after convicted Plymouth paedophile Vanessa George abused children in Laira.

She added: "My three-year-old is distraught to have to leave there."

The centre currently provides a breakfast club, after-school and holiday club.

Twenty people were currently employed at the nursery but just two full-time posts and six part-time posts would become available at the school's centre for just three and four-year-olds in Taunton Avenue.

Mr Butcher said: "We support the parents in their disappointment and tried everything we could to save the facility. We're gutted."

He said he regretted that it hadn't been possible to tell parents sooner but said information had to remain confidential.

He added that they had considered transferring the centre from local authority into a private company to reduce costs. But legal advisers warned them of the potential for "several and multiple liabilities" claims against them from employment protection.

He said the current nursery provision was planned to lose about £5,300 per month and that this wasn't sustainable.

He said the campus had provided parents with a list of alternative care arrangements.

Interviews were due to be carried out for new posts on July 4 by an independent panel not associated with the existing nursery. The new childcare centre at Taunton Avenue would open on September 5.