THIEVES who ripped up paving slabs from a century-old peace monument have been branded “evil” and “wicked” by furious councillors.

The callous thieves worked in the dead of night on Thursday to remove tonnes of heavy stone paving slabs from the Peace Gardens in Patcham.

It is estimated that the damage caused by the brazen theft is expected to run to thousands of pounds and concerns have been raised about how the gardens' restoration will be financed.

The path of destruction left behind by the theft was uncovered on Friday morning.

An appeal has now been launched for information which will help track down the thoughtless thieves.

The gardens off Old London Road were created in the aftermath of the First World War as a peace memorial.

The gardens were purchased by Brighton Corporation in 1928 following an expansion of Brighton’s boundaries and include historic features such as a Doric Temple and Tuscan Pergola which were bought from the 1924 Wembley Exhibition.

The peace gardens are also home to a drinking fountain dating from 1897 which was moved to the gardens from London Road and which is grade II listed.

The layout of the park is thought to have inspired the later creation of The Level.

Last year the gardens were awarded Fields in Trust status to protect their presence in perpetuity.

An almost identical theft in which 45 flagstones were ripped up from Whitworth Memorial Gardens in Rossendale, Lancashire, was carried out on July 3.

Conservative Councillor Lee Wares said: “In the week following the centenary of the Battle of the Somme it takes a very evil and wicked person to carry out such an atrocious act.

“The theft in itself is bad enough but to destroy an area that people use to reflect and remember their lost ones is utterly despicable.

"It must have been a carefully organised theft to have taken up and removed tonnes of paving stones in the middle of the night without attracting attention”.

Fellow Patcham councillor Carol Theobald said: “It is a very sad day and I know personally the many residents and volunteers who give their time to keep the gardens in a beautiful condition.

"There are many tributes and memorials in the garden in the form of benches and trees.

"I know everybody will be heart-broken at what has happened”.

Conservative group leader Geoffrey Theobald said: “This is a shocking theft and not one that you would ever contemplate happening.

"The council do not insure such things and for now, I don’t know how we will be able to restore the gardens.

"We will work with Cityparks to try and restore the garden as soon as possible and I only hope that the police are able to catch these vile people and bring them to justice”.

Anyone with information is asked to call Sussex Police on 101 quoting reference 607 of 14/07/16.