AN oak tree planted in memory of three children who died in a tragic house fire in Sleight, near Devizes, has been destroyed by vandals.

The tree was part of a memorial to Daniel, 14, Matthew, 13, and nine-year-old Teegan Hughes who died with their mother Dawn, 31, in a fire last November.

The tree was supplied by Devizes Town Council and schoolchildren were organising a fund to pay for a circular bench to go round it.

But town council parks staff found last Wednesday that the 12-foot sapling had been snapped in half during the night.

Deputy town clerk Theresa Coles said: "It is really horrible. The young friends of these children were deeply affected by their deaths and this was their way of showing their feelings. Now it has been vandalised and I can't imagine how hurt they must be about it."

The town council has agreed to replace the tree.

The children's aunt, Juliette Hughes, who lives in Upavon, said the family were very upset at the news of the attack on the tree.

She said: "I'm sure I speak for the whole family when I say that this is very upsetting. We are trying to get our lives back together and these kind of things don't help."

"We live from day to day. Some days are better than others but when something like this happens it knocks us back."

Dawn Hughes and her children died when fire swept through the three-bedroom house they rented at Sleighton November 15.

Mrs Hughes' partner, Karl Eagle, was the only occupant to survive the fire that night.

The funeral of all four victims took place at Basingstoke Crematorium, the nearest crematorium to Devizes that could deal with so many coffins.

The humanist service was attended by so many people it had to be relayed to those outside for whom there was no room in the chapel.

Among the mourners were staff and pupils from both Devizes and All Cannings schools where the children had been pupils.

James Ottaway, Mrs Hughes' brother, told the congregation: "Dawnie was the kindest, most generous person I have ever met.

"She could bring out the best in anybody. She could make you laugh.

"Danny took over the man of house role very early.

"He looked after his mum, his brother and sister and sorted out problems and he never once complained."

After the service 100 multi-coloured balloons were released into the sky in memory of the family.

At an inquest in April, Wiltshire coroner David Masters brought in an open verdict, saying it had been a terrible tragedy and it had been impossible for investigators to establish a cause.

Of possible reasons put forward by fire investigators, he said, one common denominator was smoking materials.

The tragedy struck the children's school friends hard.

Memorial assemblies were held at Devizes School, where Matthew and Daniel were pupils, and at All Cannings School, where Teegan was a pupil.

Pupils at Devizes School started a tribute book filled with personal memories of their friends.

Children at All Cannings School came up with the idea of having trophies in memory of Teegan and Matthew, who was also a former pupil.

The school now has two new trophies the Teegan Hughes Netball Trophy and the Matthew Hughes Football Trophy. They were engraved free of charge by Avon Trophies in Devizes.

The damage to the tree is one of a recent spate of incidents of vandalism around the town.

On Tuesday night one of the pillars in the wall at the Chequers garden, in St John's Street, was knocked over.

Later the same night the tennis pavilion in Hillworth Park was severely damaged.