Parish council chairman Peter Paget has hit out at vandals who destroyed Bromham's Millennium Cross some time on Saturday night.

Villagers found the concrete cross, created by Heddington sculptor Chris Fixsen for the Millennium in 2000, had been either pushed or pulled over between 10pm Saturday and 8am Sunday.

A three-foot stump is all that is left of the 15ft monument which cost the village £6,000 and will cost more than £2,000 to repair.

Coun Paget said: "It was sturdily made and it was not pulled over by a vehicle as there were no tyre marks anywhere near it.

"It must have taken a very strong man or a large number of people to pull this thing down.

"I am praying that there is no religious significance to this and that it is just mindless vandalism.

"I never thought I would see something like this in a close community like Bromham."

Mr Paget said that one young man had suffered head injuries in the incident and had been taken to the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

Mr Paget added: "We have taken the broken pieces away for safety. They will be kept in store until the monument can be repaired. And it will be repaired. We are not going to let them win."

Meanwhile, Devizes Town Council is considering how to finance the repair of the town's Millennium Cross which was vandalised on Easter Monday.

A claw hammer was used to chip chunks off the Portland stone monument, created by local sculptor Eric Stanford.

It was not insured and the estimated cost of £3,000 is being sought from private subscription.

Anyone with information about either offence is asked to call Devizes police on 0845 408 7000.