A memorial tree for a beloved preschool volunteer has been stolen as his family pays tribute to him.

Dimples Day Nursery planted the apple tree in its allotment with a bronze plaque in memory of Eddie Holland - also known as Ed the G - last month.

The 89-year-old had volunteered at the preschool in Darenth, near Dartford, since it opened in 2022 - building furniture, helping in the gardens, litter-picking and tidying.

Despite deciding to retire when he turned 80, Eddie could not keep away and announced he would be returning after only two weeks.

During the pandemic, the granddad-of-five and great-grandad-of-two was unable to visit the Green Street Green Road nursery for a long time and his health started to deteriorate.

His daughter Lorna Kueng-Holland, said: “My dad lived alone in Greenhithe for the last 25 years of his life, so the nursery was not only a lifeline for him but for us as well.

“Dad loved volunteering at the nursery, he loved the children, the staff and just being part of the Dimples’ team.

“When your parents get older, especially when they live alone, without family close by, you just want to know that they are OK and loved.

“Dad was definitely loved at Dimples. Whenever we called him his chats would have been about the nursery, he always had a funny story to tell about what a child had said or done that week.

“I am sure that relationship was a two-way street and the children also benefited from having an old person like dad around, just learning to take things a bit slower, listen to a story, talk a bit louder and have respect for their elders are all valuable lessons.

“For dad, it was the reason to get up in the morning, it gave him a real sense of purpose and the feeling of being wanted and needed which was so valuable for him in his later years, Dimples and everyone there kept dad young at heart.

“When we planted the tree for him at Dimples, the rain came down in buckets but it did not dampen our spirits, we had such a lovely day.

“There were tears but the sad tears of grief were overshadowed by the tears of joy and gratefulness that dad had spent so many happy hours in this wonderful place and for that, my sister Toni and I will be eternally grateful.”

Preschool owner Sandra Roles said: “Thank you, dear Ed, a Dimples member through and through. We are sending you much love and we all miss you.”

Eddie passed away on February 15 at home after a stay in hospital.

Lorna added: “He loved his family, his golf and a beer at his local pub, the Rising Sun, in Swanscombe, or at the Glentworth Ex-Service Social Club in Dartford.”

Eddie completed his military service in Penang, Malaysia, where he met and married his wife Ann before the pair moved to Greenhithe in 1964.

The apple tree was planted last month on what would have been his 90th birthday in the allotment of Dimples Day Nursery where he used to help with the gardening.

However, vandals reportedly broke into the garden and stole the sapling sometime between Friday, August 2, and the following Monday.

When the children went outside for gardening club last week, they noticed the tree had disappeared and looked to have been dug up.

Deputy manager Charlotte Roles said: “We are really sad, we cannot believe someone would do that. The plaque is still there so they knew what they were taking.

“It has obviously been dug up, no animal would have been able to do it or drag it away without us finding it.”

The incident has been reported to the police and CCTV has been reviewed by the preschool.