A MEMORIAL bench for a much-loved grandmother was so badly vandalised it had to be removed for repairs after only two months.

Marie Anderson loved Preston Manor Gardens in Brighton so much that when she died her family placed a bench in her memory underneath her favourite mulberry tree.

However, less than two years after her death at the age of 84, her family turned up at the park to discover the bench had gone.

Brighton and Hove City Council has now revealed the wooden memorial bench had to be taken away for repairs after being damaged by vandals.

Colette Barry, Ms Anderson’s granddaughter, was dismayed not to find it when she visited to lay some spring daffodils.

She contacted the council and was told it had been damaged but would be repaired and put back.

She said: “I just cannot comprehend why anybody would destroy a memorial bench?

“This has really saddened all of the family and it was most upsetting to see an empty space where grandma’s memory had vanished. All the family were planning to visit the bench on Mothering Sunday.

“I always put flowers there. My grandmother and I were very close. She was the one who said to me, ‘You are going to be a teacher’.”

Ms Barry, who works at Peacehaven Community School, said her grandmother lived in and loved the area, and had asked for the bench to be placed in her memory. It had cost the family £1,000.

She added: “She was 84 when she died but she was so active and healthy. She would be horrified at what has happened.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman confirmed it had taken the bench away and officers were working as quickly as possible to get it back in its rightful place once repaired.

He said the blocks attaching it to the ground had been damaged, although the council did not know exactly when. Another bench had also been damaged.

The spokesman estimated it would cost about £50 to £60 to repair the damage, paid for by the council.

As to why the council had not told the family about the bench being taken away, he added: “We do everything we can to provide the best service to residents but we have finite resources.”