A hunt for vandals who set fire to and destroyed children's playground equipment has been launched by police.

Firefighters were called to Windmill Hill park in Gravesend last night.

Pictures taken this morning showed the extent of the damage.

Gravesham council says the equipment is beyond repair and will need replacing.

The park was closed throughout the day until council staff were able to finish a clean-up of the debris and remains of the climbing frame and slide.

The fire was reported to police shortly after 8pm yesterday and police say it was deliberately set alight.

Officers are treating the fire as arson and have launched an investigation, including an appeal for witnesses or anyone with information about the fire and how it started.

"Play equipment was damaged beyond repair in a vandalism incident..."

A council spokesman said this afternoon: "We are disappointed to say that some of the play equipment at Windmill Hill Park, Gravesend, was damaged beyond repair in a vandalism incident last night.

"Staff have been on site today clearing up and removing the remains of the damaged equipment and the play area should reopen shortly.

"We apologise to those families who would have liked to have used the play area today, but your safety had to come first and our team has worked as quickly as possible to clear the area.

"We will replace the damaged equipment as soon as we can."

The cost of the damage caused by the fire is not yet known, the council added.

The fire service was called at 8.05pm and firefighters were there for about 30 minutes.

The cause was determined to be suspicious, a spokesman confirmed.

Anyone with information about the fire or who can help identify suspects is asked to call police on 01474 366149, quoting reference 46/3102/22.