A regional daily editor has hit out at “abhorrent” vandals who destroyed a memorial tree planted as part of the newspaper’s campaign to honour local war veterans.

The tree had been planted by the Burton Mail as part of its Pennies for our Heroes campaign, which saw readers raise more than £2,500 to create permanent memorials to men and women from its patch who had served in the armed forces.

Staff from East Staffordshire Borough Council alerted the Mail to the damaged tree, in Stapenhill Gardens, Burton-upon-Trent, which is said to be “beyond repair”.

Another tree planted in the gardens survived, but Mail editor Emma Turton expressed her shock at the news.

The damaged tree in Burton-on-Trent

She said: “I cannot believe that somebody has done this.

“The community really took the campaign on board and raised more than £2,500 to help us plant these trees in memory of the men and women who put their lives on the line for our freedom, some who sadly lost their lives doing so.

“It is abhorrent that somebody could do this to a memorial which was planted to offer a place for people to reflect and remember those who fought for this country.”

A surplus £500 collected by last year’s appeal was used to save the town’s remembrance parade, which had been under threat due to a lack of funding.