Mean thieves have put a dampener on a village's festive spirit after swiping a Christmas tree.

The culprits struck in Graveney near Faversham yesterday morning, stealing one of the traditional spruces erected by the members of the local Women's Institute just a fortnight earlier.

They also swiped the decorations and lights.

"It's a pretty mean-spirited thing to do and we're very upset about it," said WI member Clare Boggia, who is also a parish councillor.

"We raised about £250 with a raffle, and received a grant from the village trust, to buy the trees and lights to give the community some festive cheer."

The tree was ripped from the ground, having been firmly staked at the Denley end of the village, where it was a welcome sight for visitors.

"We tried to do something to brighten the village up at Christmas but some selfish individuals decided to have it for themselves," said Cllr Boggia.

"We can only imagine that right now it's in the thief's living room, which is pretty galling."

The spruce was one of several 6ft trees put up by the WI around the village as part of a community effort to bring people together.

"Somebody thought they saw it being driven away at around 9am on Sunday, so taken in broad daylight," said Cllr Boggia.

"We are checking our own home CCTVs to see if if shows anything.

"We also have a parish council meeting this week and will decide whether to replace it or not."