Spike would probably have seen the funny side but this little wooden cross would be more fitting for a pauper than the clown prince of comedy.

Spike Milligan, who died in February last year aged 83, was popular for his nonsensical humour and famously said he wanted his epitaph to read "I told you I was ill".

Instead, 14 months on, following a complicated family row over his estate, a more appropriate headstone is absent at the cemetery in Winchelsea.

Spike, who spent his later years in Udimore, between Hastings and Rye, was the founder member of The Goons.

His work helped pave the way for the surrealist humour of Monty Python and Vic Reeves.

His eccentric genius often gave way to fits of manic depression which made him an unpredictable and nightmare guest for interviewers.