Highland Council has taken the decision to remove padlocks and any other attachments from the Coghill Bridge at Wick riverside.

A spokesperson for the local authority said: "These padlocks detract from the historic nature of the bridge as well as causing paint damage and encouraging rust spots to the recently refurbished guard rails.

"There have also been incidents of pedestrians and cyclists catching clothing on them while passing each other."

The council will retain any padlocks removed for four weeks, after which time they will be disposed of. Only five padlocks were observed on the bridge today.

A request has been made that people do not place padlocks on Coghill Bridge or any other council property to help reduce ongoing maintenance costs.

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Owners are urged to retrieve their padlocks or collect them after removal at the Albert Street Depot, Wick.

A group – Riverside lockdown locks – has 374 members and was set up on Facebook on February 21 by Cheriee Shepherd after she and her partner Stuart Gill put a treasured love lock on the local bridge and a few other personalised mementos followed suit.

Following comments voicing concern about the locks, Cheriee stated on the social media page: "I can assure you my intentions were not to damage its structure in anyway."

She said today that she was unaware of the council's decision to remove the padlocks.

Anyone with queries can contact Highland Council phoning the call centre on 01349 886601 or through the website at: www.highland.gov.uk/contact

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