A tree planted by a dad in memory of his teenage son has been destroyed by "mindless vandals".

Jay Paternoster put the silver birch outside his home in Northfleet, near Gravesend, as a tribute to 18-year-old John Jackson, who took his own life.

He said: "It is in an ideal spot so we can see it from the kitchen, and when it grows you can see all the birds [sitting in it]. But right now all we see is the broken tree."

The 56-year-old and his wife Deborah – who he met in 2009 – pulled into their parking space last week to find the trunk had been snapped in half.

Jay added: "We returned home to find some horrible person had decided to break it for no reason other than that they can. It is so, so sad.

"We pulled the car up and my wife Deborah just pointed and said 'look at John's tree' and my heart sank.

"I was heartbroken. I could not understand why someone would needlessly break it. For the life of me I cannot understand why someone would do that.

"I was upset to see it had been vandalised. They broke a light bollard as well so it seems to be a case of break whatever we can."

His son John, 18, died in 2006 and Jay said 16 years later he still has bad days. "He took his own life, we do not know why," he added. "Things like that leave a very big hole in your life."

Jay also lost his step-son Ross Bonthron, 31, in 2019 to blood cancer and planted a silver birch in his memory last year along with John's.

Their garden wasn't big enough for two trees which is why one was planted outside their house, near their parking space, and the other in their back garden.

The tree was at least 8ft tall and towered above the fence but has now been left as a stump after being snapped and ripped in half. The remaining leaves are dying due to the damage.

There was also a plaque at the base of the birch that read 'My Boy' which has gone missing.

Jay, of Greenhill Road, said: "When we were kids you would not do it as you would be in serious trouble with your parents.

"I really cannot get my mind round why someone would needlessly break a tree especially when it is one dedicated to someone.

"You cannot have anything nice in the neighbourhood without it resulting in someone's mindless vandalism.

"It might sound silly but they do mean a lot to us. The other day we were sitting in the garden and a bird landed in Ross's tree, it was doing what we wanted. It was wonderful."

The dad – who is originally from Birmingham – said he hopes by drawing attention to the incident it will encourage youngsters to think before they act as they do not know what something could mean to someone.

He added: "To them it is nothing, just a tree. Stop and think. We can all walk past a tree but think what is the reason behind it, you do not know."

There is CCTV covering the area but on the day of the attack, it was not working.

The incident was reported to the council and Jay has been told the local authority will replace the birch with another when they do their autumn planting rounds.