A Kent councillor has found a union flag ripped and burned and fears the act may have been politically motivated.

Cllr Mike Taylor discovered the charred flag near the Borough Green library yesterday.

It had been taken down from a pole outside the front of the building, and burned. He said it was an act that 'chilled' him.

Police are now investigating the vandalism and are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

Parish council chairman, Mr Taylor, is outraged at the burning, especially because of the timing.

He said: "This is particularly important in this year of the centenary of World War One, the final few days before Remembrance Sunday and the end of the war in Afghanistan.

"Borough Green is proud of being British, and celebrates that by flying two Union Flags in the Village, at the library and the crossroads."

Mr Taylor has been a youth worker for many years and says he is largely immune to the "occasional stupidity and vandalism perpetrated by young people, but was shocked by this incident.

He added: "It's usually thoughtless high spirits aggravated by alcohol , but today I have witnessed an act that chilled me.

"Because there appears to be no other instances of vandalism, perhaps this was a deliberate political statement.

"That flag is a constant reminder of the sacrifices of many, we live in a country where people's beliefs can be voiced freely, no matter how outrageous and controversial.

"I do hope it was just mindless vandalism, the alternative is too worrying to contemplate."