Watch as Leith's Rabbie Burns statue gets prepared for removal as tram works continue

He will be kept in storage until the tram project is complete.

A timelapse video posted by Edinburgh Council on Wednesday morning shows Leith’s 200-year-old statue of Robert Burns being dismantled ahead of tram extension works on Constitution Street.

The statue is being removed and taken to storage just 20 feet west of his current location.

While the famous statue remains in storage it will be restored before returning to the street upon completion of the tram project which is expected to be in 2023.

As part of Rabbie's makeover uplights will be installed to illuminate him in his new setting.

A tweet from the City of Edinburgh Council Twitter said: "Rabbie Burns is getting ready for some conservation work during the Trams to Newhaven project!

"He’ll be hoisted down and safely kept in storage before being restored and returned after the tram works on Constitution Street."

The listed monument was commissioned by the Leith Burns Club in 1987, and a statue designed by David Watson Stevenson was erected a year later.