One of the country's top horticulturalists today vowed to rebuild his showpiece garden after vandals went on the rampage, cutting down several 95-year-old yew bushes.

Every year more than 40,000 people flock to Christopher Lloyd's beautifully sculptured private garden at Great Dixter House in Northiam.

Among the attractions are a number of mature yew bushes cut into topiary peacocks, first styled in 1910 by the Sir Edwin Lutyens.

Now 14 of the bushes lie in ruins, hacked down by a gang of saboteurs armed with saws who, according to groundsmen at the estate, acted with "carefully planned coldness".

But, as letters of sympathy poured in, including one from the Vatican, popular gardening writer Mr Lloyd, 80, vowed to restore the garden to its former glory.

He refused to talk at length about the attack, preferring to get on with the job of rebuilding the garden, a job that will be documented in photographs on the Great Dixter web site.

Mr Lloyd, who has published 15 books and written a column for Country Life for 38 years, described the night-time attack as "senseless" and "destructive". Offenders also targeted a yucca and eucalyptus tree and destroyed exotic foliage plants.

Police are investigating the possibility that the attack was aimed personally at Mr Lloyd, who is about to celebrate his birthday. There are also fears the vandals may strike again.

Today Great Dixter business manager and former assistant head gardener Perry Rodriguez said: "It seems to me that this attack was carried out by someone who knew the garden very well and set out to cause as much damage as they could.

"No one has any real idea who could have done this. But Mr Lloyd is refusing to appear long-faced. What makes him special is that life always goes on for him. He is very upset but will carry on. He is already looking forward.

"Mr Lloyd believes it will take around seven years to grow the Yew bushes back. But much of the garden was untouched and we shall be opening to the public as usual on April 1. I think we'll be overwhelmed.

"We have had many letters of sympathy, including one from the Vatican. It appears we have friends in high places. We do not know who it is from, perhaps someone who visited in the past."

The Lloyd family bought the Great Dixter estate in 1910, when the job of restoring the house and gardens was awarded to Lutyens, who laid out the original topiary in keeping with alterations and extensions to the house itself.

The gardens were then taken over by Lloyd's mother Daisy, who created a wild flower meadow which now boasts the highest number of wild orchids per square metre than anywhere else in the UK.

Work on restoring he damaged Yew bushes can be viewed at the estate web site at www.buzzgarden.com.