AN ICONIC statue was today (Tuesday, January 13) safely removed from the top of a North-East theatre after being dislodged in the weekend's high winds.

The statue of Terpsichore at the Sunderland Empire was left in a precarious and potentially dangerous position at the weekend.

Specialist equipment was brought on site at 8am to remove the statue and a cordon closing off surrounding streets was lifted two hours later.

Michael Mordey, Sunderland City Council's portfolio holder for city services said: “Our prime concern was, and continues to be, the safety of everyone in the area.

“We appreciate the issues that this may have caused local businesses and residents and took action as soon as it was safe to do so.

We made arrangements with specialist equipment contractors and due to a break in the weather a decision was made late last night to carry out the work this morning. I

"I’m pleased to say the operation went well and the statue was safely removed. Unfortunately it has been damaged beyond repair and we will have to look into making arrangements for a replacement as soon as we can.”

Sunderland Empire general manager Ben Phillips added: “We are pleased to advise that the Terpsichore Statue has safely and successfully been removed from the Sunderland Empire tower this morning.

"We would like to thank patrons, the local community and businesses for their patience over the last few days and can confirm that the theatre is once again open for business.

We are delighted that the rescheduled, Muriel Harrison - Everybody Dance will now go ahead on Friday 16 January following the cancellation on Saturday.