A WAR memorial in Little Thurrock has been restored to its former glory after an "extensive" clean up.

The memorial at Turps Corner has been completely refurbished as part of a scheme to clean and restore all eight of the war memorials for which Thurrock Council is custodian, so they are ready to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War this November.

Experts were also brought in to re-etch the names of the soldiers in the stone.

The Grays war memorial also recently received a major clean up, with two trees being removed and new plants installed.

Rob Gledhill, Leader of Thurrock Council, said: "The Turps Corner war memorial is looking fantastic and is a fitting tribute to the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much in defence of this country.

"I have allocated funding to ensure our war memorials are ready for commemorative services marking the 100th year since the end of the 1914 to 1918 war, including cleaning the memorials, installing new planters and tidying up plants and flower beds."

Work will take place to trim the trees and manage plants at the Turps Corner memorial in the coming weeks.