Controversial artwork dismantled

The painted wooden box sculpture cost £18,000 to create

A controversial piece of modern art along a cliff top in Fife is being demolished after residents' objections.

The Dysart art structure, which is more than a metre high and 50m long, was erected alongside the Fife Coastal Path in November last year.

Residents said the white box was an eyesore and called for it to go. They held a meeting with councillors and the local MSP Marilyn Livingston last week.

Engineers moved onto the site on Monday morning to start dismantling it.

Sea views

The installation is a wooden box which has been painted white and has cost almost £18,000. Writing was expected to be placed along the sides of it.

Local people said they feared the sculpture would devalue their houses, partly because it blocked the sea views.

It shows that community art has got to be about the community Marilyn Livingston MSP

But they have begun celebrating now that the artwork appears to be going.

Wilma Simpson told the BBC Scotland news website: "I'm thrilled. I think everybody will be thrilled.

"They have taken off the top and the sides. There was nothing to like about it. Nobody had a nice word to say about it."

Fife Council has confirmed that part of the structure is being removed but that it would be replaced by something else in the long-term.

Marilyn Livingston MSP said: "Common sense has prevailed. It shows that community art has got to be about the community."