THE owners of a city bridge becoming covered with "love locks" have pledged not to stand in the way of romance – and let the tokens stay.
Padlocks inscribed with the names or initials of couples have been fixed to the metal railings on either side of Wilford Suspension Bridge, which joins West Bridgford and the Meadows.
The number padlocks on the bridge is now up to 42, following a trend that dominates some European tourist destinations.
And Severn Trent, which owns the crossing, has said it will not be removing them.
A spokesperson for the water company said: "We've noticed some of these 'love locks' appearing on the bridge lately.
"It's quite a nice thing for people to do and although we wouldn't encourage people to cover the bridge in padlocks, if they don't get in the way of the maintenance of the bridge, we will leave them there."
Couples who leave a padlock then throw the keys into the Trent, to symbolise their everlasting love.
James Ibbotson, 20, a Raft Guide at the National Water Sports Centre, and his partner Jasmine Ball, 20, decided to join the movement.
He said: "I live in the Meadows so sometimes the missus and I walk over the bridge.
"We'd heard about the one in Venice and so did ours around Valentine's Day this year.
"If more people got involved it would make the bridge look nicer."
Love-lock bridges are found in a number of cities across Europe, including Cologne, Paris and Venice.
Thousands of padlocks are situated at these sites, but have recently had a negative effect.
Several metres of metal railing on the Pont des Arts fell away in June, leading to the temporary closure of the bridge, while two tons of weight has been added to the Hohenzollernbrücke Bridge.
Severn Trent said it would only leave Nottingham's locks in place if they did not damage the bridge, which was closed in 2008 for major refurbishment and re-opened in February 2010 after the £1.9m restoration.
Amy and Andrew Wallis, 31 and 37, from Lady Bay, hung up a love-lock while on holiday in Paris but are unsure about the locks on Wilford Bridge.
They said: "It's not a classic romantic destination.
"At the moment its fine, but it could become more of an issue if it catches on."
