KIRA CARLIN and BROOKE ROLFE

Children and staff had a lucky escape this morning when a mum crashed her car through the wall of a Seville Grove day care centre.

My World Childcare Centre facility manager Kristy Smith said a parent accelerated when she meant to reverse, hitting the side of the building and demolishing part of a wall in a building used to care for babies.

“It’s all getting fixed at the moment,” Ms Smith said. “All the families have responded well. It was obviously a freak accident and we’re putting in more preventative measures now.

“Staff straight away removed the children from that building… it was very quick. We’re very proud of them the way they handled everything,”

The centre released a statement on social media soon after the incident saying no one was hurt and business would continue as normal.

Soon after, responses poured in from parents expressing their shock and gratitude for the way staff handled the situation.

“I couldn’t believe it when I arrived at the centre to drop the boys off this morning. It is so lucky that there was no one in the babies’ room at the time. Bravo to all the staff for your calmness and flexibility under the circumstances so that we could still have our children cared for today,” mum Helen Lumsden posted.

Police, Fire Brigade and the State Emergency Service attended the scene to assess the damage and help clean up.

Owner Dana Dicey said repairs were already underway and the centre would soon return to normal.

“All the parents came in and dropped their kids off despite everything going on, they showed that they have full trust in us and our ability to keep them safe. It’s business as usual.”

The incident happened about 7am, but the centre remained open while SES officers worked to stabilise the damaged building.

Ms Smith said it was lucky nobody was inside the building at the time of the crash.

“The building is filled with babies as of 8am, so we’re very lucky it was empty at the time,” she said.

“It was just a freak accident and we’re very fortunate no one was hurt. We are still open as usual just staying clear of the damaged building.”

Day care centre worker Tracey Watterson said many parents were concerned when they heard there had been a crash.

“The parents were shocked to begin with but were very supportive and wanted to make sure the staff were managing OK,” she said.

“We had to gain permission from the parents to move the kindergarten children to one of our other centres five minutes away.

“We’re fortunate to have somewhere to take the children because all the parents are at work and wouldn’t be able to pick any of them up.

“The children were in a separate area at the time and didn’t even notice the crash.”