A war memorial in Bickley has been given historic status ahead of Remembrance Sunday.

The tribute at St George's Church is now a Grade II listed building, meaning it will be officially protected from future neglect.

It is one of five London war memorials to be listed ahead of nationwide ceremonies this weekend.

Heritage minister Helen Whately said: "War memorials have a special place in communities and remind us of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

"It is right that these monuments to the brave people who sadly never returned from the First World War will now be preserved and protected."

Five years ago, Historic England committed to listing 2,500 war memorials by the end of 2018 to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War.

The agency had given itself a target of listing 2,500 memorials by the end of 2018 to mark the centenary, but has since surpassed it.

Other memorials listed this week in the capital include two in Finchley, one in Southwark and one in Uxbridge.

The Bickley war memorial cross was designed by Lieutenant Colonel William Godfrey Newton, the son of architect and former president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, Ernest Newton, and unveiled in 1920.

The monument consists of a plinth of two steps which each have a moulded nosing formed of a fillet, astragal and cavetto.