FOUR PEOPLE have been charged with criminal damage after the statue of Edward Colston was pulled down and thrown into Bristol harbour.

Media outlets around the world reported when the statue was pulled down on June 7 this year.

No arrests were made at the protest, but Avon and Somerset police force investigated.

Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, Jake Skuse, and Sage Willoughby are scheduled to appear in Bristol court on 25 January.

Six other people have conditional cautions for the role they played in the incident.

The statue of Colston had stood in Bristol since 1895. A petition asking for it to be taken down had been signed by more than 10,000 people.

It is common knowledge that Colston made his fortune through trading West African people. Many landmarks and streets were named after him because he donated large sums of money to Bristol charities after he died.

However, following the incident the city’s music hall was renamed the Bristol Beacon. A girls school was renamed Montpelier High School.

A statue of a Black Lives Matter protester was placed in the empty place where Colston stood, without permission and was removed soon later.

The protest sparked debates around the world, about other statues, and who we choose to celebrate in public places.

A statue of Robert Milligan outside the Museum of London Docklands was taken down.

A spokesperson from the Museum of London said: “The monument is part of the ongoing problematic regime of white-washing history, which disregards the pain of those who are still wrestling with the remnants of the crimes Milligan committed against humanity.”

In Barbados, the statue of British naval hero Horatio Nelson was taken down in Bridgetown.

The minister for culture John King said in October: “As we amend the Constitution to have a Barbadian Head of State, and as a symbol of the maturity of our democracy, it is imperative that we reexamine notable elements of our colonial past. Cabinet’s decision to remove the statue is part of this process as we seek to promote national identity as part of a modern Barbados.”