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'It's not even our joke!' Edinburgh residents demand crackdown on traffic cones placed on historic statues

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Cite

Elliot, C. (2026, October 12). 'It's not even our joke!' Edinburgh residents demand crackdown on traffic cones placed on historic statues. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16203297/Calls-remove-eyesore-traffic-cones-Edinburghs-historic-monuments.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-12 · by Claire Elliot

Quick Summary

Traffic cones have been appearing on historic statues in Edinburgh’s Old Town, much like a trend started in Glasgow. At least five cones were seen on the Duke of Buccleuch monument in Parliament Square recently. Residents are calling for these "eye-sores" to be removed from monuments within the city's World Heritage Site area. Daniel Todd, chairman of the Old Town Community Council, says they’re not even Edinburgh’s joke and have become a blight on historic sites. Concerns about safety and respect for heritage led local conservation groups and council officials to advocate for stricter measures against placing cones on statues.
Written by AI on 2026-10-12, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In Edinburgh, residents are demanding that traffic cones, which have appeared on historic statues in the city’s Old Town, be removed. This trend, initially seen as a joke in Glasgow when a cone was placed atop the Duke of Wellington statue, gained popularity after similar images from Boston during Scotland's World Cup campaign went viral. At least five cones were spotted this week on the Duke of Buccleuch monument in Parliament Square and other statues across the city center. Daniel Todd, chairman of the Old Town Community Council, called them an "eye-sore" and said they were not even Edinburgh’s own joke, adding that they have become a blight on historic sites within the World Heritage Site. The Edinburgh City Council's Transport and Environment Convener, Stephen Jenkinson, acknowledged the trend but emphasized the need for public safety first.

Written for “Traffic Cones On Statues Controversy …” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Traffic Cones On Statues Controversy …
Other · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Other
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-12 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8641 article(s) · 21 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 21 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Claire Elliot
7 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 Edinburgh City Council’s Transport and Environment Convener, Stephen Jenkinson, said: ‘Whilst I appreciate that these cones may be placed in good humour and with the best of intentions, the safety of the public must always come first.
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Also by Claire Elliot
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 7 articles by Claire Elliot →

Topics

Boston Edinburgh Glasgow Scotland the Old Town Community Council

Subjects

Edinburgh GPE · 5× Scotland GPE · 3× Benny Hill PERSON · 1× Boston GPE · 1× Capital ORG · 1× Daniel Todd PERSON · 1× Dundee GPE · 1× Glasgow GPE · 1× Shetland GPE · 1× the Old Town Community Council ORG · 1×

Narrative

Traffic cones have started to appear atop statues in Edinburgh's Old Town Videos of the statues have been appearing on social media The practice was given a new lease of life after images of them being placed on top of statues in Boston during Scotland’s brief World Cup campaign were beamed across the globe. Shetland, Dundee and the North East have all had the odd cone appear on monuments since fans returned home.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-12
🔮 Edinburgh City Council’s Transport and Environment Convener, Stephen Jenkinson, said: ‘Whilst I appreciate that these cones may be placed in good humour and with the best of intentions, the safety of the public must always come first.

Claims (20 extracted, 1 hedged)

It started as a one-off example of Glasgow’s irreverent sense of humour as a traffic cone was placed unceremoniously atop the city’s Duke of Wellington statue. asserted
cone → start → statue
But it seems to have spawned a far wider tradition that has spread to other parts of the country. asserted
that → seem → country
But now, residents in Edinburgh’s Old Town have called for the ‘eye-sores’ to be removed from monuments in the city centre. asserted
sores → call → centre
Cones have been appearing across the capital, with images of at least five adorning the Duke of Buccleuch monument in Parliament Square posted on social media this week. asserted
Cones → appear → media
Accompanied with the Benny Hill Show theme tune, the short clip shows a man reaching with a high pole to try and remove the cones from the 138-year-old statue, with a caption that reads: ‘Every morning’. asserted
that → accompany → caption
Daniel Todd, chairman of the Old Town Community Council, hit out saying they were ‘not even Edinburgh’s joke’ but claimed they had become a blight on the Royal Mile and other historic sites within the World Heritage Site. asserted
they → hit → Site
Traffic cones have started to appear atop statues in Edinburgh's Old Town Videos of the statues have been appearing on social media The practice was given a new lease of life after images of them being placed on top of statues in Boston during Scotland’s brief World Cup campaign were beamed across the globe. Shetland, Dundee and the North East have all had the odd cone appear on monuments since fans returned home. asserted
fans → start → monuments
But some residents in the Capital feel they have turned Scotland’s busiest tourist district into an ‘embarrassment’. asserted
they → feel → embarrassment
Mr Todd said: ‘This is Scotland’s capital, and the Old Town is its shop window. asserted
Town → say → ?
Residents want to take pride in the place they live, and the whole country should be able to take pride in its capital.’ asserted
country → want → capital
Other statues in the city, including those of Adam Smith and Sherlock Holmes, have also been ‘coned’ in recent months. asserted
statues → include → months
Residents have now called on the council to remove ‘stray’ cones from the city centre and make it easier to report them. asserted
it → call → them
James Garry, assistant director of the Edinburgh conservation charity Cockburn Association, said it was particularly noticeable in the Old Town because of the ‘prominence and sensitivity’ of the historic area. asserted
it → say → area
He said: ‘We have raised concerns before about traffic cones being placed on statues and monuments. asserted
cones → say → statues
‘There are obvious issues of respect, but also more practical concerns about personal safety and the risk of damage when people climb on structures that were never designed for that purpose.’ asserted
that → be → purpose
A spokesman for Edinburgh World Heritage added that ‘how we present our streets and civic spaces is how we present ourselves to the world’ and believed that cones should be ‘positioned with the character of the World Heritage Site in mind’. asserted
cones → add → mind
Edinburgh City Council’s Transport and Environment Convener, Stephen Jenkinson, said: ‘Whilst I appreciate that these cones may be placed in good humour and with the best of intentions, the safety of the public must always come first. uncertain
safety → say → public
‘Unsecured traffic cones can pose a risk to pedestrians and road users, potentially causing injury or creating a safety hazard. asserted
cones → pose → hazard
For this reason, we make sure to remove them as soon as possible. asserted
we → make → them
‘I’d encourage people to refrain from placing cones on statues and monuments, helping us to protect them from potential damage - and which ultimately is a cost to Edinburgh council taxpayers - and ensure that everyone can enjoy the World Heritage Site safely.’ asserted
everyone → encourage → Site
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