A THURROCK mother and child have repaired some of the damage caused after an appreciation tree created by residents in Grays was attacked by vandals.

The tree in the open space area on Parker Road, Grays, has been adorned with labels and messages of support for the NHS and other carers, emergency services and key workers.

On Monday (27 April) the tree was attacked and many of the labels torn off and scattered.

Local residents's spokesperson Richard Suttling described the act of vandalism as 'disgusting' and said: "All the love and hard work that has gone into this has been ruined."

However today, local mum Carina Gosu attempted to salvage some of the messages and searched the area to recover some of them.

She says: "Me and my little one managed to save a bit the situation!

"We found about seven tags without ribbons and "refurbished" them and put them back where they belong!

"About three or four had ribbon still intact so we managed to tie them back as normal!

"Keep the tags coming...there are plenty of branches left!"