A baby loss charity has suffered damage to its centre in Nottinghamshire after a skip fire that was believed to have been started deliberately.
Forever Stars, in Beeston, provides support for bereaved families after baby and infant loss.
In a post on Facebook, the charity said it was “heartbroken” over the damage caused, adding that its phone lines were down, windows needed replacing and the building smelt of smoke.
The charity told the BBC there was extensive damage to the building’s exterior and smoke damage inside, adding there was about £600 of Vinted stock inside that the organisation’s staff would either need to wash or bin.
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said it was called to Wollaton Road, Beeston, on Tuesday (7 April) at 5.48pm to tackle a rubbish fire, which occurred in a skip and wheelie bin outside the charity’s Serenity Centre.
“The fire spread to the external window of the building and to the downstairs toilet,” the fire service said.
Nottinghamshire Police also attended the scene due to “believed deliberate ignition”, the fire service said.
The police force told Third Sector it is still investigating and encourages any witnesses to call 101 quoting incident 620.
In its Facebook post, Forever Stars said: “We’re heartbroken that people have done this to our safe place, but our spirit is never broken, everyone at Forever Stars has been through much worse and we still keep smiling, and this isn’t going to change that.”
But in a later post, the charity said it had been “overwhelmed” by the outpouring of support, saying: “This incident has shaken us, but those responsible have never encountered a community like the one we’ve built. Our unity is our strength.”
The charity’s chief executive, Dan Barnett, told the BBC that from about 10pm on the night of the fire, he had been getting offers of help.
“An absolute barrage of people are willing to come in and scrub the walls and [do] whatever needs doing on Saturday. It’s truly humbling,” he said.
Forever Stars has been contacted for comment.