A BABY grand piano which was an 'heirloom' for a Dutch family was due to be the centrepiece in a Barnsley cafe - until it disintegrated into a pile of of splinters.
Sara's Flowers and Teas on Pitt Street in the town centre is used by charity Creative Recovery for small concerts and charity events, and the charity said it would be great if a piano could be brought in.
Proprietor Sara Headley and her Dutch partner Jan Veenkamp travelled to Holland to collect a beautiful baby grand piano from Jan's mother's house, as she was going into a home.
"She was absolutely thrilled it was going to come here, and be played again. She used to be a musician but she hadn't played for years.
"We hired a van, and went over, just as we started to move it, it just fell apart, absolutely disintegrated.
"We think that whoever moved it for her when she moved house a few years ago must have damaged it."
Local poet and volunteer for Creative Recovery Jo Brook contacted the Chronicle to ask if she could put out an appeal for anyone willing to donate a piano.
Sara's Flowers and Teas can be contacted on 283886.
