Thieves have stolen metal worth £500 from a Second World War memorial - to sell on for scrap.

Lead from the roof of the memorial shelter in Ulley Road, Kennington, was nicked during the night of Friday, April 9.

The memorial was built in 1950 to commemorate 17 servicemen and five civilians from Ashford who lost their lives in the war.

It is being restored under a community project led by Kennington Community Forum - and the oak frame and shingled roof were finished only last month.

The project has been supported by English Heritage, War Memorials Trust, Kent County Council, local companies and residents, who helped raise the £8,500 needed to restore the shelter.

Kennington Community Forum member Chris Morley said: "It's such a shame that someone has come along and done this, especially as it is something people from the community have put their hearts into.

"The materials themselves aren't even that expensive. It's just the cost of working out how much it's going to cost us to put it back together again."

Mr Morley, of Broadhurst Drive, Kennington, has spent the past 18 months running the restoration project.

He said: "It's a real blow. We're dismayed the work done by the community has been undone by someone for the sake of a few pounds.

"It was always a high risk, but we were driven by the fact we're funded by English Heritage so we had to do it to the highest standards and that meant using lead."

Before the theft Mr Morley, a compliance manager for IBM, said they had been preparing to launch an appeal to raise £5,000 for the second phase of the project to reinstate a bench and railings at the shelter.

Any witnesses should contact police on 01622 690 690 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

For more information about the shelter, or to make a donation, go to the Kennington Community Forum.

The shelter also has a page on social networking site Facebook. To find it search for Kennington Memorial Shelter.