A new home has been found for thousands of love locks that were to be removed from a famous bridge. melted down.

Derbyshire County Council said padlocks would have to be removed from the bridge in Bakewell to allow maintenance work to be carried out.

This caused an outcry among the people who put locks on the bridge, also in memory of loved ones.

But the owner of Thornbridge Hall, a nearby mansion, has now said the love locks could be moved there.

“I can’t bear the thought of someone melting down all these memories and just throwing them away,” said Emma Harrison, owner of Thornbridge Hall.

“So if no one else wants to have her and take care of her, then I will.”

Mrs Harrison made the offer after being contacted by the Save the love locks in Bakewell Campaign.

“I looked at the Facebook page and saw how much it meant to everyone,” she said.

“I said, ‘If you really want to melt them down, why don’t you ask the city council to bring them to my house? I’ll take care of them and put them back on the lines so people can visit them.'”

The campaign group is currently in talks with Derbyshire County Council to get the green light to relocate the locks.

Richard Young, who launched the campaign, reacted emotionally after the offer was made.

“I’m thrilled. I’m a grown man, but I almost cried,” he said.

“We plan to take them to Thornbridge and rehang them there. And the people who removed the locks are also welcome to come and rehang them in Thornbridge.”

“We just need to work out the details and get it from A to B, and then the guys can fix the bridge.”

The Council said previously Attempts were made to find “alternative options” to exhibit the locks in Bakewell, but “unfortunately no location could be found”.

When the BBC asked the council about the possibility of displaying the locks at Thornbridge Hall, a spokesman said: “We understand that a number of options for the future of the locks are currently being considered and we are happy to consider whether any of them are possible.”

The city council intends to change the design of the bridge so that locks can no longer be attached to it in the future.

It was said that this was necessary for public safetybecause there were reports that people had been injured by the locks.

Widower Mike Hall, who installed a lock on the bridge with his late wife Carol in 2014, said he was relieved the locks were retained.

“Yes, going to Thornbridge Hall is not the same as going to the bridge, but you can still say that was the padlock we touched and put in place,” he said.

“To me it’s a precious piece of metal. It’s just a tiny brass padlock, about the size of a first class stamp, it’s that tiny, but I don’t want it to disappear.”

Mr Hall plans to move his love lock – along with an estimated 40,000 other locks – from the bridge to Thornbridge Hall.

“If there had been any danger of it being melted down, I would have removed it, but at the same time I would like to keep it there (on the bridge) as long as possible and then take it to Thornbridge Hall with all its friends and re-erect it as close as possible to its neighbours on the wire there.”

The plan is to build a fence at Thornbridge Hall similar to the bridge in Bakewell, with wires to which the love locks can be attached.

The fence will be next to the cafe so people won’t have to pay an entrance fee to see their castle.

It will also be close to a free parking area, and people will be able to reach the property on foot or by bike if they have the Monsal hiking trail.

“It’s not too far from the original site, just a couple of miles, and it’s easily accessible by road, on foot and by bike. It’s a lovely, quiet area with lovely gardens,” said Mr Hall.

“I am glad that my castle and my family’s castle are still there and I am sure that the majority of people will also be happy that the castles have been preserved.”

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