City of Culture rotor blade moved out of Hull centre

A 250ft-long (75m) rotor blade which was installed in the centre of Hull has been removed.

"The Blade" was the first in a series of temporary commissions to mark Hull's year as UK City of Culture.

The 28-tonne structure, designed by Nayan Kulkarni, was placed in Hull's Queen Victoria Square in January.

It was removed overnight and returned to the Siemens factory on Alexandra Dock on Hedon Road where it will be checked and cleaned.

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The Blade was installed in Hull's Queen Victoria Square in January

Sam Hunt, executive producer for Hull 2017, said: "It has been taken to the city's heart. It was a totally iconic structure in the city centre.

"But it was always conceived as a temporary artwork and it's time to say goodbye to Blade.

"Nothing like this has ever been done before so we did not have any preconceptions about how many people it would bring in, but it's brought in thousands and thousands of people."

The Blade hit the headlines within weeks of being installed after it emerged the installation had not been granted planning permission.

It is expected to be put on show outside the factory but an exact date has not yet been confirmed.