More than 18 months after Black Lives Matter protesters toppled a statue of slave trader Edward Colston into Bristol Harbour, the debate over controversial historical sculptures rages on.

The four anti-racism campaigners charged with criminal damage were yesterday acquitted by a jury with an 11-to-one majority decision.

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Standing outside Bristol Crown Court, the so-called 'Colston Four' thanked the numerous supporters and fellow campaigners who have allied with their cause since being charged in 2020.

During the trial, defendant Rhian Graham told the jury the statue glorified a man who "committed atrocities against humanity".

The verdict has been described by some as a step in the right direction in coming to terms with Britain's brutal colonial past.

Shortly after the verdict, Labour MP Clive Lewis tweeted: "Public spaces should evolve to reflect the communities that use them, instead of being shrines to historical figures who had the wealth to purchase the whitewashing of their reputation."

TV historian Professor David Olusoga also gave his opinion on the verdict, calling it a 'milestone' in the country coming to terms with its history.

And some commenters on KentOnline's Facebook page have expressed a similar opinion.

Mary Kerr wrote: "Statues of racist slave traders were raised to celebrate them.

"They should be taken down and maybe something different put in their place to remind us of that time."

Kent has a number of similar monuments with links to a violent past, including Lord Kitchener in Chatham, which was at the centre of a fierce debate in 2020 over whether or not it should be pulled down following Colston's removal.

Lord Herbert Kitchener, as Secretary of State for War, played a central role in the First World War, and his image was used in the iconic Your Country Needs You poster campaign.

He also played a part in setting up concentration camps in South Africa during the Second Boer War at the turn of the century.

So should Kitchener be removed, or left there as a reminder of the mistakes of the past?

In a Twitter poll, just over a quarter of responders agreed that other monuments should also be removed.

Some are worried that removing a statue goes some way to erasing history, a point the prosecution hammered home during the 'Colston Four' trial.

Facebook user David Wares said: "The whole world has brutal history. And we should never forget."

Meanwhile Sam Knight wrote: "It's time to learn for mistakes made, you can't erase the past you can try and improve the future."

Others have criticised the acquittal of the four anti-racism campaigners who helped topple the Colston statue.

Facebook commenter Tracey Amos Sultana said: "They should never have been cleared, criminal damage is criminal damage regardless whether you like/agree with the thing or not, it isn't yours to damage."

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