An amateur historian has ensured the names of hundreds of fallen servicemen will be honoured on a desecrated war memorial on Remembrance Sunday.

Andrew Arnold was able to provide the names of 243 fallen servicemen from World War One on 14 brass plaques stolen by thieves from Carshalton war memorial last month.

His records have meant their names could be added to temporary plaques by Sutton Council to be put on the memorial before residents pay their respect to the area’s war dead at a ceremony on Sunday.

The temporary plaques, made of rigid, weatherproof boarding, painted to look like the stolen brass plaques, were due to be added to the memorial on Thursday (November 10).

Mr Arnold said: “I was disgusted at the theft of the plaques. I am pleased the work I have done to record the names and history of those on the memorial could help the council get their names back on the memorial so quickly.”

The 31-year-old, who works for housing association Merton Priory Homes, has spent the past three years researching the histories of the fallen servicemen on the monument, sometimes meeting their relatives to find out more about the fallen heroes.

His work has already discovered 125 men with ties to Carshalton not on the memorial, and the names of those who died in WW2.

The theft of the plaques from the war memorial has sparked actions to protect other memorials in the borough.

Sutton Council has begun to mark its other cenotaphs with SmartWater, a liquid which can only be seen under UV light, which allows stolen metal to be identified and returned to its owner.

Belmont & South Cheam Residents' Association has photographed Belmont war memorial's plaques in case they are stolen, while it is also looking into the possibility of installing CCTV to watch over the memorial to deter thieves.

The Carshalton War memorial plaques will eventually be replaced with new tablets carved from Portland stone.

Visit carshaltonwarmemorial.webs.com to see Mr Arnold’s research into Carshalton war memorial.