The cost of retrieving Edward Colston's statue from the harbour has been revealed by Bristol City Council.
The statue of the 18th century slave trader was toppled, rolled a third of a mile and thrown in the harbour during a Black Lives Matter protest last month, on June 7.
It was later fished out of the water in the early hours of June 11 before it was moved to a secure location so it can one day be put on display in a museum.
More than a month later, the council has revealed how much the operation to retrieve Edward Colston ultimately ended up costing.
A spokesman told Bristol Live today (July 23): "The cost of recovery from the Colston statue from the Harbour was £2,500 – the bulk of that cost being for the divers."
This statement comes after Bristol's mayor Marvin Rees criticised artist Marc Quinn after funds for frontline services were used to remove the sculpture of activist Jen Reid from Colston's empty plinth.
Both removals were paid for through the same general fund however, which pays for a range of frontline services such as adult social care, children’s services, highways and transport.
During a fortnightly press conference on Wednesday (July 22), Rees confirmed the cost of removing Mr Quinn's BLM sculpture was £560.
He also said he had been inundated with abuse from both sides of the argument following the toppling of the Colston Statue in June.
He says this only increased following his decision to take down the BLM-inspired replacement, which was installed without permission last week.
“I have had a steady stream of stuff over the years but clearly there has been an uptick from the moment Colston came down," he said.
“Then there was an uptick when the statue went up and a continued uptick when the statue came down.
“I have had stuff that has been derogatory about my own colour and racial background and people who look like me.
“I have also had stuff sent to me suggesting I was not really black and I was a traitor to the race in the way I dealt with it."
Mr Quinn has said he would pay the removal costs and reclaim his BLM statue from the museum so it could be sold in aid of two black history charities chosen by Ms Reid.
