The statue outside Upton Park celebrating West Ham's 1966 World Cup heroes was defaced on Saturday night hours after the east London club's 2-1 victory against Chelsea.

A litre of blue paint was tipped over the base of the statue that pays tribute to the collective achievement of Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Sir Geoff Hurst, who helped the Three Lions to win their solitary major international trophy.

The sculpture also features former Everton player Ray Wilson, who carried England and Hammers skipper Moore as he paraded the Jules Rimet Trophy around the Wembley pitch after the memorable 4-2 win over West Germany.

Newham Council, who commissioned the statue with the club in 2003, confirmed that a cleaning team had been sent to repair the damage.

"We were alerted on Sunday evening that blue paint had been poured on the plinth of the Champions statue and sent a specialist cleansing team as soon as possible to clear it up.

"Around a litre of blue emulsion paint had been poured on the plinth behind the statue and it took the team around 45 minutes to fully remove it using a high pressure jet washer," read a council statement.

The statue, which cost £725,000 to erect and stands on the corner of Green Street and Barking Road, has been damaged on three occasions in recent years.