Bristol council removes statue of Black Lives Matter protester that had replaced Colston memorial

The sculpture of a Black Lives Matter protester that replaced the statue of slave trader Edward Colston has been removed by council workers.

The statue, by artist Marc Quinn, was put up in the early hours of Wednesday, but workers removed it at around 5.20am on Thursday.

Bristol City Council said the sculpture was removed at its request, adding: "It will be held at our museum for the artist to collect or donate to our collection."

Quinn's life-size black resin and steel piece of Jen Reid was inspired after seeing a photo of her standing on the empty plinth following the toppling of the Colston statue.

The sculpture, entitled A Surge of Power (Jen Reid), was installed without the knowledge or consent of Bristol City Council. It had attracted large crowds after it was installed. 

On Wednesday, Bristol mayor Marvin Rees tweeted: "I understand people want expression, but the statue has been put up without permission.

"Anything put on the plinth outside of the process we've put in place will have to be removed."