Monkeys were spray-painted around the base of the memorial

The base of the war memorial in Hills Road was spray-painted with 10 18-inch high monkeys overnight on Monday.

Cambridgeshire Police said a 27-year-old local man had been arrested, questioned, and bailed without charge pending further inquiries.

Charles Hawkins, 78, from the Royal British Legion, said the vandalism was "sick and disgusting".

Firm called in

Despite efforts to clean the memorial, the graffiti could not be removed. Veterans draped the memorial in flags to hide it during the 11 November service.

"We've tried cleaning it off but it won't budge. I think it will need sand-blasting," said Mr Hawkins, president of the Cambridge branch of the ex-service organisation.

"It's unbelievable that they should do this today.

"The memorial was put up after World War I, but it's for everyone who has lost their life since then."

Cambridge City Council said dozens of people had phoned to report the graffiti.

Director of City Services Graham Watts said: "We've had a lot of people phone our help desk to say how offended they are by this."

He said a specialist firm had been called in to clean the memorial to avoid damage to the stone.