A popular feature garden at Hall Place in Bexley has had to close to the public after it was vandalised by "mindless miscreants" on Monday evening.

The Mushroom Magic garden, which was designed and planted by the Centrepieces Mental Health Arts Project, was destroyed by 'mindless' vandals and has now been taken down.

Lynda Weaver, manager at Hall Place and Gardens, said the mushrooms, which are created from lots of different materials, were taken out of the ground, broken up and thrown into a nearby pond.

"It's just mindless. There's no need for it. These people had no political agenda. It was just there for people to enjoy," she added.

The display, which was only built in March, has now been taken down as Centrepieces tries to recover some of the mushrooms. It is not yet known whether the display will be put back up.

After the garden was destroyed, people took to social media to express their disgust, with people denouncing the vandalism as "shameful."

One of the designers who led the project, Christie Cassia, said: "Everyone put their heart and soul into making their mushrooms.

"We have had such a positive response. People have loved seeing them, especially the children."

She added she was warmed to see so much support for the display and said she hoped the mushrooms "will be popping up again soon."

Cllr Peter Craske, cabinet member for community safety, environment and leisure told News Shopper: "It's absolutely disgusting. This is a big project about mental health that has been running for several months.

"There have been different projects every few weeks and they have been really popular and really well supported.

"It is disgusting that people have come and destroyed this."

Cllr Craske encouraged anyone with any information about the incident to call the police.