A bronze statue of fictional detective Sherlock Holmes has been returned to its original location in the Edinburgh street where he was born.

City council chiefs yesterday restored Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's hero three years after it was removed to make way for tram works.

Experts have spruced up the statue, which has long been a favourite with locals and visitors to the Scottish capital.

Councillor Lesley Hinds, Edinburgh's transport convener, said: "Commissioned to mark the birthplace of his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, the magnificent statue of Sherlock Holmes has been a much loved figure on Picardy Place since 1991.

"It has been carefully conserved and spruced up by experts at Powderhall Bronze and we're delighted to see it back on public display once again."

Conan Doyle was born in Picardy Place in 1859 and the statue was erected by the Federation of Master Builders in 1991 to mark its 50th anniversary.

Conan Doyle's mother ran a boarding house in the city and his father was an architect. He was educated in Jesuit schools and later studied at Edinburgh University, qualifying as a doctor in 1885. He practised for six years before becoming a full-time writer.

Dr Joseph Bell, Conan Doyle's mentor at the Royal College of Surgeons, is often hailed as his inspiration for Holmes because of an ability to pinpoint details about patients' illnesses.