A Tommy silhouette statue of remembrance has been vandalised.

The ‘Lest We Forget’ soldier statue of remembrance by Bushey Mill lane, which has also been installed across Watford to commemorate the fallen, has had its head decapitated.

Paul Johnson, who lived in Watford for 58 years, came across the vandalised statue located next to Greycaine Road on Thursday (October 22) at around 12pm, and said he was “disgusted” after spotting the damage.

He said: “I just couldn’t believe what I saw to be honest. It’s disgraceful – I know it’s ‘only a statue’, but it’s a statue of our country’s liberty and someone sawn the head off it, which is quite intimidating to some people.

“There’s a lot of things going on in this world at the moment, and I know people will say it’s only a statue but with respect my dad, my two uncles and both my grandads fought in the war to keep this country safe, then you get this kind of thing happening and I just find it despicable to be honest.”

Watford Borough Council is aware of the incident and police are investigating.

Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: “The vandalisation of the Tommy memorial is unbelievably sad, extremely disrespectful and completely unacceptable. We are aware of this dreadful incident and so are the police, who are urgently looking into it.

"The council takes vandals damaging poignant memorials in our town very seriously and we will replace them as quickly as possible.

"The purpose of the memorials is to educate all generations about the sacrifices made by many in conflicts and to raise funds to help those suffering from the hidden wounds of war.

"It is a project that the council have supported since 2018 and one that is close to many people’s hearts. I’m sure everyone in Watford is as appalled and distressed by this as I am.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Royal British Legion said: “The Royal British Legion is greatly disturbed to hear of the damage to the ‘lest we forget’ statue in Bushey Mill Lane.

“War memorials and graves honour the memory of every member of the Armed Forces who has made the ultimate sacrifice and deserve to be treated with the utmost respect.”