A NEW tree in memory of Malvern's wartime dead was planted in Link Top on Monday.

The red maple tree planted on the former site of a memorial bus stop was a replacement for a tree snapped in half by vandals at the end of March.

The site has a personal connection for members of the Appleby family who attended the planting ceremony.

Dorothy Appleby opened the original bus shelter in March 1951 after two of her sons died serving in the Second World War.

Stanley Appleby, of Leigh Sinton Road, said he was pleased to see the new tree but worried for its safety.

"I am hoping it's going to be safe and perhaps this time people will respect what it is intended for," he said.

"It's not just for my brothers and my family, it's for all the families in the Trinity Parish and all of Malvern's war victims."

He added that the tree was good and strong and he hoped it would stay there.

Brigadier Rolph James, Royal British Legion county president, donated the tree and planted it at Monday's ceremony, where the vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Richard Rosoman, performed a blessing.

A memorial plaque and Malvern granite stone were put up at the site when the memorial bus shelter was demolished in February.