Grieving relatives of a young man who took his own life have been left “angry and devastated” after his seafront memorial was vandalised.

The body of 26-year-old Toby Barrowcliff was discovered on the beach at Herne Bay in August and the tribute to him was set up as a place for loved ones to remember him.

Toby, a barman, lived close by in Sea Street and was engaged to be married.

His fiancee, Lucy Fruin, was left shocked after seeing the damage done to the shrine when visiting yesterday and “cannot believe someone would be so cruel”.

“Whenever I walk past the memorial I always have a look or blow it a kiss. But, yesterday I noticed it looked really bare,” she said tearfully.

“When I looked closer I saw flowers missing, photos were smashed and the lights were cut.

“I got really angry at first. This has been there for just over two months and it has not been damaged before.”

Ms Fruin often visits the shrine to Toby with her daughter and says it is “a place of comfort” for them both.

She added: “I’m just so glad my daughter wasn't there, she would be devastated to see it.

“This is a place of comfort for us. It's where he took his last breath so it's where we feel closest to him.

“I very often go down there and listen to the waves, I feel him around me when I’m there.”

Despite the shock at the vandalism, the 25-year-old says she plans to repair the damage even though it has already cost them a “significant amount of money”.

Toby had worked in numerous bars and restaurants across Whitstable, Herne Bay and Ramsgate.

At the time of his death, he was employed at The Pier Ceylon on Herne Bay seafront.

He went to Pilgrims Way and Wincheap primary schools in Canterbury as a child and lived in Hersden before moving away to live with his father, Rob, in Yorkshire.

But he returned to east Kent about seven years ago to be close to his many siblings.

One of Toby’s sisters, Elle Barrowcliff, says she has “not been coping well” since the death of her brother and the memorial was a place where she could “feel his presence”.

“I went to go have a look after Lucy told me about the damage. I was fuming,” she said.

“We made the memorial smaller so that council did not complain and someone has still decided to damage it.

“I visit regularly and it is a place for the family to meet and remember him.”

Toby was buried in Canterbury and the memorial on the beach in Herne Bay is a place where the family pay their respects closer to home.

Elle, 24, added: “I have not been coping well since his death. I have never experienced a death like this and I still have not accepted that he's gone to be honest.”

Ms Barrowcliff also says Toby’s other siblings Lucy, Jack and Chelsea are equally devastated by the vandalism.

The family members are now “unable to take their children” to the shrine until the damage is rectified as they will be “too upset to see it”.

Speaking to KentOnline in August, the family said they had been overwhelmed by messages and grateful of support they received after Toby’s death.

But they are urging anyone with a family member or friend in a similar situation to Toby to seek the support of mental health services.

For confidential support on an emotional issue, call Samaritans on 116 123 at any time or click here to visit the website.

If you want to talk to someone confidentially, click here.