Retired Gurkhas and members of the public are campaigning for a national memorial to the soldiers.

Gurkhas have fought alongside the British army in both world wars and are currently serving in Afghanistan.

The nationwide calls are for the 45,000 who have lost their lives to be remembered with a statue on top of the Leas Cliffs, close to where the 2nd Battalion the Royal Gurkha Rifles is now based.

It is thought £50,000 will be needed to fund the memorial, ideas for which include a large statue of a modern day Gurhka in battle dress.

Designs were displayed at a rally held at the Hawkinge community centre at 1.30pm on Saturday.

Peter Carroll is District Councillor for Folkestone Cheriton and also campaigns on behalf of the Gurkhas. He said: "The retired Gurkha community of East Kent, where now many hundreds live, have themselves said they want to do this. Over generations the Gurkhas have given their lives for our country, and so many people want to mark that in some way.

"In previous months we have been battling away on the more direct campaign to get the Gurkhas the right to live in Britain, and the support we have had on that has been amasing and almost spiritual. We have had support from across the UK and even the world. That reaction and love for the Gurkhas has been brilliant, and hopefully we will get the result we want from that campaign very soon.

"We welcome any support for the memorial and want the public to express their views. Already we have had such a great response. We will be asking people what they think the memorial should like, where it should go and what it should be."