A MURAL remembering those who made the ultimate sacrifice during the First World War has been daubed with obscene graffiti.

The memorial in Witham’s River Walk was defaced by explicit images between April 1 and 2 last week.

Witham Town Council says its open spaces team have successfully managed to remove some of the graffiti.

Unfortunately, the other side of the mural, which shows a soldier standing in a field of poppies, is so extensively covered, the council has asked the original artist to repaint over the damage.

Braintree and Witham Times: Location - the touching mural before it was defaced with graffiti Location - the touching mural before it was defaced with graffiti (Image: Witham Town Council)

Vandals used black spray paint to draw rude images, and other mindless graffiti all over the mural last week.

Town council leader Phil Barlow said: “It’s always disappointing that such mindless vandalism takes place anywhere, but this has been a significant piece of artwork on the River Walk for some time. 

“It’s also sad to think that someone local would want to deface a remembrance memorial as it costs all of us in undertaking repairs."

The council says it is the second time in a short period that the mural has been targeted.

Braintree and Witham Times: Spray paint - an illustrative image of two spray paint cansSpray paint - an illustrative image of two spray paint cans (Image: Pixabay)

Once it has been fully restored, Witham Council is looking to cover it in a toughened clear plastic material to prevent it being damaged in the future.

It is also looking at the possibility of extending its CCTV network to include cameras in the area.

But the repair and any further steps to protect the artwork in the future will come at a cost, the council said.

The mural is in River Walk on an Environment Agency gauge station and was created by Scott Irving, of spray can art company Brave Arts, alongside New Rickstones Academy pupils in 2015.

There are different artworks on each of the station's walls, and each pays tribute to those who fell in the First World War.

Braintree and Witham Times: Art - an image of the mural being created in 2015Art - an image of the mural being created in 2015 (Image: N/A)

The project was to celebrate Witham's First World War centenary commemorations and took about a week to complete.

Anyone with information on the vandalism is urged to contact Essex Police, quoting crime reference 42/52960/24.

Police officers also visit Witham Town Hall every few weeks so if you want to speak to someone in person, go to witham.gov.uk/police-specials to find out more.