Heritage volunteers have been left "devastated" after vandals smashed up their visitor centre.

Northfleet Harbour Restoration Trust, based down by the River Thames, in Grove Park, Northfleet, is reeling as trustees assess the damage of a mindless attack.

The trust’s caravan, which served as a place for members to relax, as well as a visitor centre and toilet, was targeted over the weekend.

Life rings were also stolen from the site.

Secretary and trustee, Conrad Broadley, 47, said he thought the incident had taken place on Saturday afternoon, in broad daylight.

He explained that at noon on Saturday the site was “secure”, but when he returned the following day, the gate had been smashed open.

Mr Broadley said: “I think it was just mindless. There’s no reason or rhyme to it . This was just pure vandalism.”

The trust has six members, who work tirelessly to restore the historic harbour and nurture the area's sites of importance.

Trustees believe the harbour has been used for thousands of years, dating back to Roman times.

So far the trust has discovered sites including two docking areas, a tide mill and an 18th century slip way.

The caravan was donated to the trust and Mr Broadley said everyone at the organisation was finding the damage hard to take.

He said: “The trustees are absolutely devastated, it’s very disappointing, we put all the hard work and effort in and then this happens.

“The caravan has been systematically smashed through. We have to think about what we can do next. The idea of the caravan was a place to sit down and reflect.

"It also has a toilet so it was quite valuable, we might be able to repair it so we can still have a toilet.”

Mr Broadley was unsure of the cost of the damage, but he said the trust will do its best to carry out repairs.

He said: “The caravan is basically written off. The only thing we can do is board up the windows with temporary covering, but if we did board them up there would be no light coming in.

“The windows are bespoke double glazed caravan windows, so to repair them would be very expensive. We almost need to scrap the caravan and get a new one.”

Mr Broadley said that the damage would not stop the trust from carrying out its heritage work.

He said: “We’re cracking on, there is too much to do. They can’t wreck the harbour.”

A police spokeswoman said: “Officers were called at 10.44am on Sunday October 12 to a report of criminal damage to a caravan in Grove Park, Northfleet.

"A number of life rings were also believed to have been stolen in the incident. Inquiries are on going.”