It took five hours for council workmen to remove the last remaining equine statue of fascist dictator Francisco Franco from Spanish soil. The only statue now remaining of him, though not on horseback, is located in Melilla, and will also be removed imminently to comply with the Law of Historical Memory.

Hundreds of curious onlookers, some for and some against the initative, gathered to watch as the five-tonne bronze statue, which has stood in the Town Hall square since 1964, was taken away to a municipal warehouse where it will remain until becoming an exhibit in the new Cantabria Museum, which has not been built yet.

It is exactly the same as one removed from the Nuevos Ministerios square in 2005 and similar to the one removed from Zaragoza in 2006.

Santander Town Hall square is set for a complete revamp, including a massive underground car park.

As part of the project, a Republican shield will also be removed - a decision that has been criticised by the Association for the Recuperation of Historical Memory on the grounds that this dates back to "a democratic era," and should be allowed to stay.