Artwork set up in Southend to raise money for terminally ill adults and children has been trashed by vandals.

Organisers of the Hares About Town trail announced they were forced to remove two of their hare sculptures in the town after they were damaged on Saturday night.

The sculptures form part of an art trail which has been set up in Southend throughout the summer as part of an initiative backed by Havens Hospice.

Once the exhibition is finished, each sculpture and piece of work will be auctioned off in an effort to raise cash for Havens Hospice, which is in charge of some palliative care services in south Essex.

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Bosses said they were informed that three sculptures had been damaged on Sunday morning, with two of them now being removed from the trail to undergo repairs.

Spokesman Louise Gloyne said: “We are saddened that two of our beautiful hares have suffered needless damage, this trail has taken three years to create, bringing so much joy to the residents and visitors to Southend.

“We hope to have them back very soon thanks to local artist Luke Bryant who is looking after the repairs.”

Matt Dent, Labour councillor for Kursaal, posted pictures of some of the damage on Twitter and added: "The Hares About Town art installations have been one of the genuine highlights of this summer in Southend, and I'm devastated at the news of three of them having been vandalised."

Essex Police has launched an investigation into the vandalism, while the fire service, Southend Council and its contractor, Veolia, all helped deal with the aftermath of the damage.

The works which had to be removed for repairs were Harold Finehare, by Esme Taylor, and Hop, Skip and Splash, by Lissie Art.

The third piece - And English Country Garden by Lynne Campen – was fixed and has been re-installed.

Anyone with information about the damage should email info@haresabouttown.co.uk or contact Essex Police on 101.