Plans to offer more free childcare for working parents will force a nursery to make reduncancies, bosses of the Leigh business have said.

Last week more free childcare was announced by the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt as part of his latest budget.

Currently, working parents with three and four-year-olds are eligible for 30 hours of free childcare per week.

The plan, first reported by The Guardian, is believed to include 30 hours a week of childcare for parents in England with children aged one and two-year-old.

Caroline Nutting of the Little Acorns preschool in Leigh told The Guardian: “We would have to make redundancies, have less staff and the care and high standard provision would end up being affected.”

The budget plan will see 30 hours a week of free childcare given to all children aged from nine months to four years, though its introduction will be staggered. At present, parents of three and four-year-olds can claim 15 or 30 hours of free childcare, depending on their circumstances.

Hunt promised an increase of free hours funding of £204m from this September, eventually rising to £288m next year. However, it is well below independent estimates of the costs nurseries face and full funding details have not been revealed.