Staff at a nursery which closed with less than a day's warning say they have been left without jobs and a month of wages.
Fresh Steps Day Nursery, on Bluebell Road in Eaton, emailed parents and staff on Sunday to let them know it would be closed permanently from Monday.
Parents say they are now struggling to find new care and have lost out on pre-paid fees, which, for some, spiral into the hundreds but which the company said have 'been absorbed into company debts'.
Though the email was signed off by the 'team' at the nursery, more than one former employee has said they were unaware of the closure until they received the message.
MORE: Mystery shrouds sudden closure of Eaton nursery
One said: 'A couple of staff members were still on holiday - it's at the end of the month for us and now we will not get paid. All of us have got bills to pay.
'We left on Friday and said 'see you next week' as always and had no idea. We've now been told that they were trying to sell it but we had no idea at the time, so we don't feel like the email was from 'the team'.'
Another employee said they had requested documents from the company proving the necessity of closure.
In the email, the nursery said an 'extended period of loss of earnings and financial deprivation' after Ofsted temporarily shut it last year amid management concerns had contributed to the closure.
They said interest 'returning at a slower rate than predicted', the government's free 30 hours childcare for three and four-year-olds and former clients they say 'persisted to slander the nursery' had hampered their recovery.
MORE: Eaton nursery closes with less than 24 hours notice - leaving parents out of pocketThey described the decision as 'heartbreaking' and said they had 'agonised' over it.
Another employee said: 'We thought the nursery was doing well and we had really nice feedback from some of our parents.
'It's come as a shock to us too. I now won't get paid and will have to find whatever job I can as quickly as possible.'
Parents who have belongings at the nursery have been asked to email with a list.
Fresh Steps did not respond to our request for a response by the time of publication.
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