Bristol street rebranded Colston Four Road

Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, Sage Willoughby, and Jake Skuse were found not guilty of criminal damage

A road in Bristol has been unofficially renamed after jurors cleared four people who helped to pull down the statue of slave trader Edward Colston.

Defendants Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, Sage Willoughby and Jake Skuse were dubbed the Colston Four by supporters.

They were found not guilty of criminal damage last month.

A street sign has now appeared in Colston Road, Easton rebranding it Colston Four Rd. The council said it had nothing to do with the street sign.

The 17th century slave merchant's memorial was pulled down during a Black Lives Matter protest on 7 June 2021 and was thrown into the harbour shortly after.

Colston Road in Easton seems to have been rebranded Colston Four Rd

Following the toppling of the statue, a number of institutions and buildings linked to the slave trader were renamed, such as the Bristol Beacon and Montpelier High School.

During the trial the defendants claimed the presence of the statue was a hate crime and argued therefore it was not an offence to remove it.

The jury's verdict split the opinion of people in Bristol and further afield leading the Attorney General to "carefully consider" referring the acquittal to the Court of Appeal.

It has not been confirmed who was responsible for putting up the road sign or whether it will be allowed to stay there.

Bristol City Council said it had not put the new street sign in place