Hundreds of 'love locks' attached to the Ha'penny Bridge in Dublin are to be removed by the City Council.

Couples have been using the bridge as a means of making a romantic gesture by writing thier names on the lock - attaching it to the bridge before throwing away the key.

But some have expressed concern that the locks are ruining the bridge's appearance.

The City Council says it removes the locks regularly and will continue to do so.

It's a trend that's swept Europe, from Prague to Paris - and now Dublin.

Pictured above is the Dublin effort, and below a more established example in Paris

The local authority's comments come after blogger Darragh Doyle sparked a conversation about the new phenomenon.

@rubot I'd also point out pedantic difference between street art and scrawling your name on a bridge as seen here pic.twitter.com/IGJyhzQmWz

— Darragh Doyle (@darraghdoyle) June 21, 2013

It then emerged that the locks risked damaging the historic bridge, and the City Council confirmed it is to remove the locks.

The Irish Times report that a group of lock-pickers had offered to remove them for the council, but the structure is too delicate apparently. 

Darragh Doyle has posted a images of the bridge with his blog on reddit.