The neighbours of a veteran laid to rest in an unmarked pauper's grave are fighting for him to be properly remembered.

Raymond Wells, of Canon Appleton Court, Wincheap, was buried in a council plot at Canterbury Cemetery earlier this month after he died following a fall in June.

The ex-serviceman, who dedicated 25 years of his life to the Queen's Own Buffs, is understood to have been estranged from his family and died shortly after his 82nd birthday.

Having left no will, he was given a 'public health funeral' on October 10 and now lies in an unmarked grave in Becket Avenue.

Neighbour Delia Parker-Bailey, 60, said that she arrived for Raymond's burial to find there were no plans for a service, meaning it fell to a council gravedigger to read the Lord's Prayer.

"I was appalled. I went [to the funeral] because he was a very sweet fellow," she said.

"When I got there, there was a chap digging the grave. I asked where's the service, and he said there isn't one, because no one has paid for it.

"The gravedigger was so surprised by my surprise that he went and got a bible and read out the Lord's Prayer.

"What kind of message does that give existing servicemen? It's just not on. I found it extremely sad and totally disrespectful."

A simple cross bearing Raymond's name and the month of his death disappeared only days later, meaning his grave is now bare apart from a small wooden stick, and Ms Parker-Bailey wishes to give him another funeral and headstone.

"I would like him dug out and given a proper burial with the respect that he deserves, with a representative of the British Army," she continued.

"It's absolutely appalling that a soldier could be thrown away like that. It should embarrass the church and it should embarrass the council."

Raymond, who had lived in the sheltered housing complex in St Mildred's Place for eight years, is believed to have fought in colonial Malaya and in Kenya during the Mau Mau uprising after enlisting for national service aged eighteen.

Russell Palmer, a fellow veteran who formerly lived downstairs from him, said: "I'd like a bit more than this. He was an ex-soldier.

"He was a very quiet man, but when I found out about this, I just thought it was ridiculous.

"The army was his career. Had it been publicised that this was happening, we could have got soldiers from any regiment coming along to pay their respects."

Eric Hearn, chairman of the Royal British Legion's Canterbury branch, said the association had not been made aware of Raymond's death.

"If we had been made aware of it, we could have been at the funeral to help pay respects," he said.

"We would have had our standard bearer there, and one of our members could have said the Lord's Prayer.

"What kind of message does that give existing servicemen? I found it extremely sad and totally disrespectful" - Delia Parker-Bailey

"We're not just for remembrance, we're there to help veterans and their families, both serving personnel and the likes of myself, veterans."

Major Peter White, secretary of the Queen's Own Buffs Regimental Association also said his organisation could have attended the funeral.

He said: "We could have brought a standard bearer, we could have got wreaths, we could have arranged music.

"If we would have known, we could have done something about it.

"It's terribly sad. What's even sadder is this guy lived in Canterbury, we have got a very very vibrant association branch in Canterbury, they meet every month, we have events in Canterbury regularly, and Raymond could have benefitted from that."

Canterbury City Council, which is responsible for arranging public health funerals, says the service for Mr Wells was conducted in a "dignified manner".

Spokesman Rob Davies said: “It is always very sad when someone passes away and there is nobody to organise and pay for a funeral.

"In those circumstances, it falls to us as a council to make the arrangements for a basic funeral, but one that is conducted with care and dignity throughout.

“Our role is to firstly register the death and then begin investigations into the individual who passed away.

"We will visit the property to search for information such as personal documentation, family details or a will, and then our cemeteries team will arrange the funeral through a funeral director.

“We will most likely come into contact with friends or family of the deceased, and if people ask to be kept informed about the arrangements, we do so.

“At the funeral itself, a coffin is provided and the ground is properly prepared.

"A gravedigger will be present and a temporary wooden cross is placed on the grave for a year.

“During this whole process, the focus is on sensitivity and compassion, and our experienced staff are well versed in making sure this happens.

"Once the funeral is complete, we then have a legal duty to try and recover our costs from any financial sources available to us.

"Again, this is carried out with great sensitivity.

“In the recent case of Mr Wells, his funeral was attended by a number of mourners and those who were present have confirmed it was conducted in the dignified manner we would expect."