Friends and family of a man killed on a forest road have appealed for information after balloons left as a tribute to him were removed.

Amy Scrivener, whose husband Keith Scrivener, of Tycehurst Hill, Loughton, was hit by a car in Epping High Road in August 2011, tied the balloons to a stick at the site of the crash to mark what would have been his 36th birthday on Monday last week.

But by Wednesday evening the string holding the balloons in place at the site in Bell Common had been cut, releasing them.

Mrs Scrivener said: “They were tied very tightly round a large stick.

“My friend who lives very close went up on the Sunday morning and tied three new balloons to it.

“I drove past yesterday and those three balloons had been cut from the stick.”

She said she had called the police and Epping Forest District Council, but was told they had not taken the balloons away.

She added: “Someone is removing balloons that are of huge importance to young children who are trying to understand what’s going on.

“If anybody is driving along and sees anybody walking, cutting balloons, it would be nice if they could report it.”

She said the balloons were important to her son and daughter, who were three and five when Mr Scrivener died.

The 32-year-old added: “It’s the children’s one way of marking things for their dad and balloons, for them, make them smile.”

Mr Scrivener’s friend of 20 years, Daniel Green, 35, of Fyfield Road, Ongar, said a similar thing had happened around the anniversary of his death last year.

He added: “The grief and suffering of losing someone close is bad enough without some sick person vandalising your place of mourning and remembrance.”

Anyone with information should call Epping police station on 101.