WORK to remove parts of Gourock's controversial coat of arms from the front of the town's Municipal Buildings can now go ahead.

Stonework which depicts a fist grasping a skean and a demi-man holding a skean from the top of the insignia can now be taken off of the Shore Street property after Inverclyde Council gave work plans the green light.

The move comes after a plan to remove the crest, which some have branded racist because of its alleged links to slavery, was approved by councillors last year.

The approved proposals also included measures to take away the emblems located at Gourock Gamble Halls, Gourock Pavilion and the Provost’s lamp post on Shore Street.

It was also proposed that the Dardanelles Memorial Window at the McLean Museum, a stained glass window installed in 2018 to commemorate local men who fell in the First World War, be removed entirely.

Officers estimated that the total cost of the removal works would be more than £7,000, which would come from £40,000 of funds which have been already earmarked for the council's Historical Links to Slavery reparatory plan.