A little bit of a town's history has disappeared after a pub sign was stolen.

The Army & Navy board had been hanging in Lower Rainham Road, Rainham, despite the pub closing many years ago.

It was a familiar site for drivers as they waited at the busy junction at the bottom of Berengrave Lane.

The pub building has been converted into three terrace properties and people living there say the sign disappeared overnight on Monday, July 26.

A post online read: "Missing....The old pub sign, a rusting reminder of The Army and Navy public house which was converted into houses a number of years back has gone.

"The pub sign was the last historical reminder of what once stood here."

CCTV footage from the car garage opposite showed a figure acting suspiciously at about 11.15pm.

Kerry Geer, who works at the garage, said: "Our camera that covers our car sales also shows that junction where the sign was.

"The CCTV shows a figure at the bottom of the pole who ran and hid when a car came past, then went back to the sign. When the next car came past the sign had gone."

"I do not know if its been reported to the police but we certainly haven’t been approached for the footage."

Gareth Hanson lives in the end house and says he owned the sign as part of his deeds.

He said: "I'm really annoyed about it. I wanted to get it restored.

"It is a bit of history, our house was part of the pub, we still have the pub cellar, so it is sad that it has gone. "

He added: "I think it will end up on an auction site, you see other pub signs going for quite a bit."

Patricia Marsh lives a few doors down. She said: "I didn't hear a thing [when it was taken]. One minute it was there, the next it was gone.

"I have lived here for 17 years and I am sad to see it go.

"It seems like quite a lot of effort to go to to steal an old pub sign. It must have been very heavy. It was in need of repair and had lost all of the picture on it.

"There is just a big hole where it was now."

The Army & Navy was situated at 677, Lower Rainham Road and it is thought to date back to the 1850s.

Local history says the pub was a meeting place for fighting men because of it proximity to the river. It was run by a former sergeant of the Marines who chose the name Army & Navy so neither service was offended.

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