DREDGING UP THE PAST
Edward Colston statue is hauled from Bristol harbour days after being torn down by BLM protestors
THE statue of Edward Colston was hauled from Bristol harbour this morning after it was torn down by Black Lives Matter protesters.
A diver attached a winch to the base of the bronze figure of the controversial slave trader which was hauled onto a wooden jetty early this morning.
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Colston’s statue was damaged during the raucous BLM protest on Sunday and water could be seen pouring from a gaping hole in its side as contractors hauled it from the water.
It was fished out at about 5am because the council "didn't want anybody to get hurt if there was a crowd there or anyone looking".
"We've had a diver down there who attached the ropes to crane it out of the water and take it away," Ray Barnett, head of collections and archives at Bristol City Council, said.
"The ropes that were tied around him, the spray paint added to him, is still there so we'll keep him like that."
Mr Barnett said the statue would now be hosed down to remove the mud and ensure "we preserve him as he was tipped into the dock, while the decision is made how to move on for there".
"Our intention is to stabilise him before he corrodes further," he said.
Red and blue spray paint could be seen on its face and feet while rope used to pull it from its plinth was still tied around the statue.
The figure - which has been in the city centre since 1895 - was missing it’s walking stick and was covered in scuff marks where protesters had rolled it to the harbourside.
It took a team of five, including one diver in the water and another waiting on the shore, just under an hour to remove the statue that weighs just under a ton.
The team had planned to use airbags to lift the sculpture to the surface, but instead relied upon a winch from a truck on the harbourside.
The statue was transported to the city’s M-Shed museum where it will exhibited alongside placards from the Black Lives Matter protest on Sunday.
REWRITING HISTORY
Slave ships owned by Colston in the 17th Century transported tens of thousands of people from Africa to the Americas.
An insider said: “The council were keen to get the statue out of the harbour as soon as possible.”
Several passersby stopped and watched as the statue was lifted from the water.
Celia Edgell, 61, said: "I’m absolutely disgusted, they’re not protesters they are just vandals.
"They had no right to tear it down and throw it in the harbour, it’s dangerous.
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“Edward Colston lived hundreds of years ago, it was a different time and he helped Bristol become what it is today.
“But the protesters don’t respect that.
“I’m pleased they are getting it out but I’m worried about it being put in a museum, what if it is vandalised there too?”
Another local added: “They were in and out with it remarkably quickly, but it doesn’t look in good shape it must have taken quite a bashing before it was dumped in the harbour.”
In the wake of protests over the death of George Floyd in the US, Bristol City Council announced that a commission of historians and other experts would be set up to research the city's "true history" including the impact of "wars, protests, slavery and freedom".
Demonstrators toppled the statue from its plinth within two minutes and cheered as it crashed to the ground.
Some protesters kelt on the neck of the bronze figure, highlighting the plight of Floyd.
A group then rolled it for almost an hour before it was tossed into the harbour.
Most read in News
Across Britain online petitions have been set up demanding that statues of individuals linked to the slave trade be taken down or put into greater historical context.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
After protesters threw Colston’s statue in the harbour Avon and Somerset Police launched a criminal damage investigation and revealed they have identified 17 suspects.
Cops are reviewing CCTV and social media footage to gather evidence on those responsible before presenting a case to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Statue of Edward Colston is pulled down by BLM protesters in Bristol