Butterflies Day Nursery in Lakenheath had to close for a day to assessthe damage after the storm. The 23-place nursery is a converted bungalowwith a conservatory room at the back. Owner Pat Tippett said, 'It wasabout four o'clock when it started to hail and it just got heavier andheavier. Luckily we only had about three children left in the nursery atthat time.'
A section of the conservatory roof gave way, but Ms Tippett managed tohold the polycarbonate roof up for two hours, with her daughter, themanager and another nursery worker, until help arrived.
Ms Tippett said, 'Holding up a polycarbonate roof panel while it isholding four inches of ice is not easy. Then it gave way, so all threeof us were freezing and soaked to the skin.'
Parents arriving to collect their children and other local residentscame to help as the news spread.
Besides the roof, the nursery suffered flood damage to the carpet.
Ms Tippett said, 'The insurance company came about 8.30 that eveningwith four blowers to dry out the carpet.'
Ms Tippett has contacted Ofsted and sent them a risk assessment for herlocal inspector.
The nursery was closed for one day only for a clean-up operation, whichinvolved sterilising all the children's toys and equipment.
The conservatory is out of bounds to the children until the roof can bereplaced with a stronger wooden one.