A village war memorial will be restored after the parish council was given a £12,855 grant to carry out work.

The Grade II listed memorial in St Nicholas Churchyard in Castle Hedingham was put up in 1921 but is suffering from wear and tear and subsidence.

The base of the memorial tilts to one side because of ancient burials underneath.

Inscriptions on the main part of the memorial, built using Anglo-Norman stone, have also become worn and difficult to read.

Parish councillor Rob Warley said: “We are delighted to have received this grant, which enables us to get the best conservation advice and expertise for the restoration of our war memorial at this special time as we commemorate the centenary of the First World War.”

The money has been granted by the Grants for War Memorials scheme which is jointly funded by English Heritage and The Wolfson Foundation and is administered by the War Memorials Trust.

Work is expected to begin in early 2015.