A town council has said it needs more time to take action amid growing anger over a shabbily restored war memorial.

The restoration work at Ledbury came thanks to former town resident and Lancaster bomber navigator Stuart Heaton, who donated £30,622 in 2019.

Now, a carved paving stone acknowledging this generosity is also showing damage, with a large crack appearing in one corner.

Ewen Sinclair, a former serviceman, believes that the wrong materials were used throughout the restoration.

“It’s scandalous,” he said. “Everything that was used seems to be cheaper than what was quoted for.”

Steve Ellis, an experienced construction site manager, examined the monument closely and prepared a damning report for the town council on its numerous failings.

Almost a year later, he says, he still hasn’t received any answers as to how things went so wrong.

Town councillor Dee Knight also expressed frustration at the lack of progress.

“There were mistakes made,” she said. “We need to put things right, learn lessons and move forward.”

A statement from the town council said: “As residents of Ledbury are aware there are a number of issues in respect of the repairs recently carried out to the war memorial.

“As a result Ledbury Town Council is in discussions with the contractors in order to ensure the work to the war memorial is carried out to a satisfactory standard for its preservation for many years to come.

“As many of you are aware Mr Heaton, a former Ledbury resident, kindly donated the cost of the refurbishment works, and the council have written to Mr Heaton to advise him of the issues and the steps the council are taking to rectify them.

“We would ask that the people of the town bear with us for a short while longer whilst we make every attempt to make good the issues.”

Mr Sinclair said that for veterans such as himself the long-running failings were particularly frustrating.

“This memorial means a lot to everybody in Ledbury, but it is particularly important for those who have been in the forces.”