Sarisbury Green: Car crashes into war memorial and graves

A 4x4 ploughed through railings and a wall surrounding the war memorial off Barnes Lane

A Grade II listed war memorial has been damaged after a 4x4 left a road and ploughed into it.

The blue Suzuki crashed through railings and a wall surrounding the War Memorial in St Paul's Churchyard in Sarisbury Green, Hampshire.

Several graves were also left damaged in the crash which happened shortly after 11:15 BST on Monday.

The faces on its plinth are inscribed with the names of 54 people who died in World War One and 16 in World War Two.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said no-one was injured in the crash.

The base and stone edging around the memorial were also damaged

Councillor Ian Bastable, executive member for Streetscene at Fareham Borough Council, said he was "shocked" to hear about the damage caused.

"We have now begun the process to repair this precious memorial and the other damage to the site, as well as the process to recover costs," he added.

"Repair work will need to be approved by the conservation officer due to the Grade II listed nature of the memorial."

The authority said the vehicle had been recovered from the churchyard, and the site along Bridge Road made safe with barriers.

Headstones, grave borders and memorial sculptures were left strewn across the churchyard following the crash in St Paul's Churchyard