VANDALS tarnished a First World War memorial site leaving broken glass strewn across a public Bournemouth garden.

A brick was thrown through the glass casing on the information board (inset) at Fampoux Gardens in Charminster.

The incident is the latest attack on sites commemorating the sacrifices made by millions of people during the conflict.

Last month one of the Royal British Legion’s Silent Solider statutes was destroyed within 48 hours of being installed in Ferndown.

Then two weeks ago vandals targeted a decorative sailboat in Westbourne, which was decorated with flowers, just half an hour after work to install it finished.

Two men used stencil lettering to mark the words ‘HMS Armageddon’ on it.

The latest act in the wave of crimes during the 100th year since the end of the First World Ward happened just yards away from the memorial, which is surrounded by wreaths of remembrance.

Earlier this year, the centenary of the Battle of Fampoux was remembered at the memorial.

A resident, who asked to remain anonymous, noticed the broken glass and reported it to the council. The glass had been clear and the board was left empty several days later.

“I was quite angry about it,” the resident said.

“It is unacceptable, especially as this year is 100 years since the end of the First World War.

“Commemoration is something that resonates with us and it is a little community park. Hopefully it is repaired as soon as possible.”

Winton East ward councillor Pat Oakley said the culprit’s actions left him “very sad”.

“It is difficult to imagine what goes through the minds of people who commit these crimes," he said.

“It is particularly shocking for it to have happened here because it was only a few weeks ago that more than a hundred people gathered in the rain to remember the Battle of Fampoux where three Bournemouth men died. This memorial was created in their honour and the many other members of the Hampshire Regiment who gave their lives in the Great War.”

Fampoux Gardens has a unique connection to the First World War, as ex-servicemen were on hand to lay out sections of the public space in 1922 when it was known as the pleasure gardens.

The following year a suggestion was made and swiftly put into action to rename the area to commemorate the part played by the Hampshire Regiment at the Battle of Fampoux on March 28, 1918.

In April 1923, a formal opening was held for the renamed gardens with various guests including the Mayor of Bournemouth Alderman Cartwright and Sir Harry Brooking, of the Royal British Legion.