Alpha Mummy: every parent’s fear
A nursery school was closed by police yesterday after a female worker was arrested on suspicion of distributing indecent images of children and a man was charged.
More than 60 children and their parents and carers were turned away from Little Ted’s nursery in Plymouth. They were handed letters informing them of the woman’s arrest and told that the centre would be closed while police continued their inquiries.
The 39-year-old woman, named locally as Vanessa George, was in custody last night. She was arrested on Monday night within three hours of police receiving a complaint. The nursery and the home that she shares with her husband and two teenagers were being searched. Officers are believed to have removed computer equipment. They refused to say whether any offences had been committed at the nursery.
Colin Blanchard, 38, from Littleborough, was charged with possessing and distributing indecent images at Trafford Magistrates’ Court yesterday. The charges relate to images recovered from a computer, mobile phones and other software.
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As a result of the inquiry by Greater Manchester Police, information was passed to the Devon & Cornwall Constabulary. It is believed that a photograph of Mrs George wearing the nursery’s insignia was found on a device belonging to Mr Blanchard.
Chief Superintendent Jim Webster, the commander of Plymouth police, said that officers were trying to identify the children involved. He told a press conference: “It is difficult to identify exactly who is in the images at this stage. There is naturally great concern in the community.
“Our work is to find out what has happened, where the images have come from, where they have been sent to, and if there is any risk to anybody.”
The nursery, which has 64 pupils aged 2 and upwards, is within the grounds of Laira Green Primary School. Andy Kerswell, a governor at the primary school, said: “You can understand every single parent being out of their head with worry at this news. It’s easier said than done to ask them to be calm at this time but they need to be calm for the sake of the investigation.”
Parents attending a meeting with police at the school last night said they had been told not to discuss what they were told for fear of compromising the police investigation. One said: “Lots of parents had serious questions which were answered by police. But it wasn’t good news.”Plymouth City Council children’s services department is also investigating.