Police are investigating after a dozen homemade Adolf Hitler decorations were found on the Christmas tree outside a local town hall in a small village in Italy.

The cardboard decorations, which are red with a black-and-white photo of the Nazi dictator made to look like he is making a heart symbol with his hands, were found on the Christmas tree outside the town hall in the small Tuscan village of Montemurlo.

Police are investigating the incident, and the village, which is not far from the city of Florence, said that they consider it to be “a serious incident” that has “tarnished the holidays in Montemurlo”.

Mayor Simone Calamai is quoted in local media reports as saying: “This is not a prank, I am deeply indignant.”

He added that the images of Hitler on the Christmas tree are an “insult” to the village, which reportedly has strong anti-fascist traditions and commemorates its liberation from the Nazis on 11th September every year.

The city of Florence was occupied by German forces in 1943 and 1944. British forces, with the assistance of troops from New Zealand, liberated Tuscany in July 1944 before Florence finally fell into Allied hands in late August.

The commune of Montemurlo wrote on Facebook: “A serious episode marked these festive days in Montemurlo. Unknown people hung on the Christmas tree, which is in front of the town hall, the tree of all the villagers, a dozen balls with Nazi effigies and the image of Adolf Hitler with a red heart.”

And Mayor Calamai is quoted in the statement as saying: “This is a very serious episode that offends the values ​​on which our Republic and our democracy was born.

“It is a gesture that outrages all those who have died for the values ​​of freedom and peace and who fought to give us the Constitution and freedom.

“This is not a stunt, I am deeply indignant. Using Hitler’s images as decorations for the Christmas tree is an offence to our whole community, gathered in this symbol of joy and brotherhood for the holidays.

“Investigations by the municipal police have already started and soon we will be able to identify those responsible.”

The municipality added in its statement: “The town hall and the whole area are monitored by numerous cameras and therefore it will be easy to trace the perpetrators of the act.”

The police investigation is ongoing, and at the time of writing, no arrests had been made.