THEY usually sing their hearts out at the end of each session, but this week toddlers at a St Austell playgroup were silenced after thieves stole their beloved music centre.

Just a few months ago the children and their parents worked tirelessly to raise the £300 to buy the sound system after they were turned down for a grant.

But on Thursday Esther Baker, who runs Chatterbox, at St Austell Baptist Church, found the equipment missing.

"It provided them with the music to sing and dance to and they absolutely loved it," said Esther. "I'm absolutely gutted for the kids as it was the highlight of their day.

"When the realisation hit me that it had been stolen I couldn't believe it. I can't work out what happened – all I know is that the kids have no music."

The popular parent and toddler group, which caters for around 100 children, desperately needed a new sound system and was unsuccessful in applying for a small grant.

Esther said: "We were disappointed, but we decided to raise the funds ourselves so we didn't let the children down.

"My friend worked really hard making crafts and selling them and we also went to car boots to get the £300.

"It's so sad it's been stolen and the children are now without again.

"I've had to tell them and they're so upset – and so are the parents. It's back to primitive music for us.

"I am hoping this will jog someone's memory if they've been offered a sound system. If anyone sees it on eBay, or for sale in the paper, then please tell us. We'd love to get it back."

The black music centre has a speaker missing and had a memory stick with children's Christian music attached. Also stolen were two radio microphones, a roaming mic and a CD player.