A nursery has come under fire from upset parents over demands for payment - despite being closed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Junior's Day Nursery in Cranbrook has, like schools and nurseries across the country, shut its doors to youngsters while social distancing guidelines are in place.

But despite parents now having to look after their little ones at home, bosses at the childcare provider have issued demands for payment, citing commitments to staff wages and bills as yet unsettled with suppliers.

Nursery director Denise Fuller has told families whose toddlers attend the Cranbrook day-care centre they would need to pay 50% fees in April and then 20% on an ongoing basis to maintain their child's place.

Now one angry mum has withdrawn her son from the nursery in protest, while another has told us they have serious reservations about their child remaining enrolled despite being delighted with the level of care given to her toddler.

Emma Watson, whose son Max attended Junior's, has now found him a place at another nursery after being asked to pay more than £400 in fees in April, money she says she simply cannot afford while her income and that of her electrician partner David has been cut due to the lockdown.

She said: "I know that many nurseries are not charging at all at this time. It simply is not fair. I work in sales, and my partner is an electrician and cannot charge customers for doing nothing."

Francesca Rose's daughter Emily is also usually looked after at Junior's while she works at a financial advice company, and she says the care her daughter has received has always been excellent.

But now the stand-off over fees - still totalling £645 in April when the nursery is closed - has made her unsure about whether to keep her child enrolled there.

"The trouble is the government advice is asking nurseries to be reasonable," she said. "But it should not be guidance - it should be an instruction.

"If they are a private company then telling me 'we are not making profits' is not something I can know and I don't believe them. They are getting fees from parents and the government is paying 80% of their salaries."

Ms Rose has made a nominal payment of £1 to the nursery - which also has sites in Headcorn and Tonbridge, the latter of which remains open for the children of key workers - and now says "the ball is in their court".

"The support from our parents across the company has been overwhelming..."

Responding to the concerns of the parents, Ms Fuller said the business, which employs around 70 staff, if not making a profit during the crisis.

She said: "Parents have been asked to pay 50% fees for April and 20% for May to cover essential fixed costs and to ensure that we have a nursery for our children when parents are allowed to return to work.

"I have liaised with sufficiency officers at KCC, accountants, legal teams and other private full day care settings in the local area to arrive at this fee structure.

"The support from our parents across the company has been overwhelming and so positive that we cannot thank them enough."

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