A FUNERAL director has offered to pick up the bill and replace the cross and wreath at Whittlesey’s vandalised war memorial.

War veteran Pop Whitwell, who organised the installation of the �500 plinth in October, was left heartbroken when he found the cross snapped and the wreath damaged.

But Andy Murfitt, who runs AD Murfitt Funeral Services, has offered to restore the memorial to the fallen soldiers of the Cambridgeshire and Royal Anglian Regiments at no charge.

He said: “I read the article about the damage and I was frustrated about how mindless it was.

“I think that replacing the cross and wreath is the least I could do.”

Mr Whitwell, 76, secretary of the Whittlesey and Peterborough branch of the Cambridgeshire Regiment Association, said: “It’s very good of him.

“Myself and all the old comrades are very pleased that he would do that. It shows a real community spirit.”

Police are investigating the vandalism. Anyone with information should contact them on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.