A daughter has been left heartbroken after a photo frame she made for her late dad’s grave was stolen.

Lauren Jeffrey, from Gravesend said she spent almost a whole day creating the West Ham-themed frame for her football-loving dad after he died in an accident at work.

But within days of placing it on his grave at St Helen’s Church in Cliffe on the day of his funeral, it had gone.

She said: “When I went back a few days after the funeral on May 22 to spend some time with my dad, it had been taken.

“All the other flowers appeared to be there, so it seems that the frame had been specifically targeted for some reason.”

Lauren said the theft happened before West Ham won the Europa Conference League cup.

The 27-year-old said: “I don't know who could do such a thing. Maybe it was a child who just didn't realise what they were doing, but if it was taken by an adult just say how could you be so cruel?

“There isn't any monetary value to the frame. What could you possibly gain that justifies causing so much additional hurt and upset?

“I can't imagine anything lower than taking a memorial from a grave.”

Lauren, who idolised her dad, used artificial flowers so the frame would last longer and could remain on his grave after the fresh flowers had gone.

The mum-of-three was left devastated when her dad died in an accident at work.

Steve Jeffrey, from Cliffe, was killed on April 20 when he was reportedly trapped under heavy machinery at offices in Fleet Place in the City of London.

The 51-year-old, who also had a son Kai, 16 and daughter Amy, 21, enjoyed following his beloved West Ham and spending quality time with each of his children.

Lauren said they had a lot of father-daugther time, enjoying their shared passion of Grasstrack and Speedway Racing.

She said: “Whilst I was growing up my dad was a top class Speedway mechanic, a job which took him all over the world in his younger days.

“When he was working at Arena Essex and Eastbourne Speedway tracks, he used to take me with him and I'd sit watching my dad work, proudly supporting the Speedway rider and team he was working for.

“We would also go to various Grasstrack and Speedway meetings to cheer on many of my dad's friends who were racing.”

But Lauren said they didn’t always have to be doing anything amazing with her dad for their time together to be special.

“Just being in his company was always enough for me,” she said. “I idolised him. We would laugh together all the time. He was also up for a laugh and a joke.”

When she was younger Lauren said he loved being the typical embarrassing dad.

“Whenever me and him used to go into Tescos he would sing as loud as he could ‘Let's all go to Tescos where Lauren gets her best clothes’.

“As you can imagine, being a teenager then it was very embarrassing. Even on bad days he still managed to make me laugh.”

Lauren says she was never a big football fan like her dad and her half brother but she still knows all the words to West Ham’s famous fan anthem.

She said: “My dad did drum ‘I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles’ into me, which still to this day I remember every word to.

“That’s probably because instead of waking me up normally for school when I was younger, he used to come in my room and sing that song so loud like he was an alarm clock.”

The hospitality worker is asking the thieves to return the treasured frame, which includes a photo of her and her dad at her aunt Sue’s wedding, to the cemetery.

“I'd ask them to please just put the frame back on my dad's grave, let him rest in peace and let our family grieve and come to terms with this loss, without any additional pain and upset.”

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