Poppy appeal organisers today feared someone with a grudge against Muslims has desecrated a garden of remembrance.

They said there was no other explanation for the disappearance of three wooden Islamic crescents from the garden outside Worthing Town Hall.

The six-inch-high crescents, similar in size to the Christian crosses and Jewish Stars of David placed every year at remembrance sites all over the country, are a symbol recognised by the Royal British Legion.

They commemorate the millions of Muslim soldiers who died fighting alongside the British Army during the Great War and the Second World War.

The three crescents in the shadow of Worthing War Memorial bore two African names and the English inscription, "Edward's Boy".

Legion officials suspect they were taken by someone with anti-Muslim sentiments following the September 11 attacks in New York.

Thelma Bignall, Worthing's poppy appeal organiser, said: "Many thousands of Muslims gave their lives for this country. Why should they not be remembered?

"We haven't taken them out. Somebody has stolen them or done it with a nasty, twisted mind and removed them.

"The crescent is a symbol recognised by the Royal British Legion."

Derek Porter, chairman of the Worthing branch of the Royal British Legion, said: "I have seen a crescent put there before and it was welcomed by the Legion.

"I was a member of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Sussex Regiment, part of the 4th Indian Division, and there were a great many troops from around the world who were Islamic.

"All denominations fell - Church of England, Catholics, Hindus, Jews and Muslims - and they should all be remembered.

"We don't know who put the crescents there but would like to contact them to establish a relationship.

"It's all a bit of a mystery at the moment."

A spokesman for the Royal British Legion's national headquarters in Pall Mall, London, confirmed that the crescent was a recognised symbol of remembrance.