THE final nail in the coffin of Padgate Nursery was delivered on Monday night when education chiefs agreed to close the building and move children to Orford.

The nursery, off Padgate Lane, will move to the site of St Stephen's RC Primary School and 40 new places will be created at Padgate Primary School, and 52 at Bruche Infants School, so some nursery provision will be retained in Padgate.

The scheme was given unanimous support by members of the education and lifelong learning committee.

Clr Maureen Banner was delighted with the announcement and said: "I think this is wonderful and really celebratory news for Warrington."

But the move created a storm of anger in Padgate with protests against the closure and a 1,407-signature petition objecting to the relocation.

Cath Pinnington, a parent, who has been involved in the battle to keep the nursery in Padgate, voiced her disappointment at the news.

She said: "We are devastated really, we tried as hard as we could and there is nothing else we could have done. We just feel like we have been ignored.

"We have not been listened to and it feels like the decision was made before we got involved."

She also cast doubt on whether there would be sufficient space at Bruche to accommodate the new places.

"There is not enough space to park at the moment and with 52 new places it would be impossible," she added.