QUICK-thinking landlord Phillip Nutter saved a vandal-hit playschool from disaster.

The Jolly Nailor licensee, alerted by a passer-by to a burning bin at St Richard's HQ, used his pub extinguisher to douse the flames and called the fire brigade.

Twenty five windows were damaged in the incident last month, but now, thanks to Mr Nutter and a £300 donation from Asda, the Crabtree Lane playschool is better than ever.

Owner Sue Cook said: "Vandals set fire to a wheelie bin which spread and took the windows out of the prefabricated building which was the former job centre.

"If a passer-by hadn't seen the fire and gone into the pub, and the landlord hadn't been so kind, we would have lost the place, which has 80 children on the roll.

"We had to shut for a couple of days because of smoke damage, but we all mucked in to clean up.

"I was shocked when the Leigh branch of Asda rang up recently and told us we had been awarded a donation from the firm's foundation fund. We think one of the mums must have nominated us. The £300 gift is brilliant and has helped towards the cost of repairing the damage.

"I'd like to thank both Mr Nutter and the store for their valuable help."

The playschool was chosen for the store's Get Involved With Kids project after customers were asked to name local charities and community groups that would benefit from practical or financial help.

After receiving more than 10 customer votes and 279 colleague votes, St Richard's was selected.

Asda manager Mike Kenny said: "We chose to work with St Richard's because it gives us a real opportunity to give something back to the community where we live. Our colleagues are looking forward to getting stuck in and really making a difference."