Bid to save vandalised Castle Vale school grotto event
Hundreds of pounds have been raised to save a school's Christmas grotto event after equipment was stolen and damaged.
Staff at Greenwood Academy, in Castle Vale, found a container was broken into last week and items including a PA system, lighting and costumes stolen.
The school said hundreds of families took their children to the event each year. It will decide later this week if it can go ahead on 20 December.
Some 30 people have pledged £500 of a £1,000 target to buy new equipment.
Trevor Evans, community manager at the academy, said: "People are gutted in school and there's a real glumness.
"People rally round in Castle Vale and as a community people are doing what they can."
The school is appealing to local businesses to help save the annual Santa on the Vale event, which has been sold out since it began in 2012.
It promises a £3 grotto visit, Christmas market and live performances.
Luke Jones, who set up the fundraising page, said Christmas was a special time of year and he did not want families to miss out due to "selfish individuals".
He added the organisers who "made it happen every year" needed a lucky break.
"It must be very stressful enough trying to put all this together without the added stress of people with sticky fingers," he said.