VANDALS have desecrated the war memorial at Egglescliffe.

Parish councillors were stunned to discover the damage over the weekend. Louts had spilled masonry paint over the monument, dumped rubbish at the site and kicked carved poppies from the decorative wreaths on the railings.

"It is awful, coming so close to Remembrance Sunday," said the council clerk, Mrs Helen Rennison.

The council hopes to have most of the repairs done by November 12 when a service is to be held at the memorial. But the work will cost about £200 and some of the features may not be complete.

It is only a year since the parish council spent £4,000 bringing the memorial up to scratch with new railings, paving and gold poppies set in wreaths.

Vandals kicked the poppies out, broke them and several are missing, even though they were welded on. Masonry paint was trailed over everything.

"It looks a total disgrace," said Mrs Rennison. "What has happened here is mindless."

Before November 12, the council aims to have the paint blasted off and some poppies replaced, though there could be a problem getting enough to complete the wreath.

Luckily, said Mrs Rennison, the contractor used by the council was very good about getting such jobs done at short notice.

The memorial has been the target for minor incidents before, such as graffiti, but this could be scrubbed off. It was provided by public subscription and is maintained by the parish council.

Mrs Rennison said that as Yarm fair was taking place at the weekend, more people than usual might have used the path leading back to Egglescliffe.

The broken poppies were found by a councillor on Sunday and the paint by another member on Monday. Police have been informed.

"We would be glad of any information about the incident and appeal to people to keep their eyes and ears open," said Mrs Rennison.

"If they see anything like this or people hanging around, ring the police.

"This could have ruined Remembrance Day for the whole parish."