Memorials at Liverpool Street Station to the children who fled Nazi-occupied Europe to Britain on the Kindertransport are being used by commuters as rubbish receptacles.

The situation has prompted the launch of a petition to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, urging "that someone take responsibility for the memorials and ensure that they are respected appropriately".

Members of the East Anglia Progressive community started the petition after noticing litter deposited on the two statues. Some passengers use them as seats while waiting for trains. "We became horrified that these memorials were being totally disrespected," said congregant Stuart Goodman. He wanted better signage to educate station users about the significance of the memorials.

"More than a million children died in the Holocaust. These memorials are as much to them as to the lucky ones who got out."

Sir Erich Reich, chair of the Kindertransport committee of the Association of Jewish Refugees, said: "the memorials should be maintained in a dignified manner, so that visitors are able to appreciate who is being commemorated."