By . Lucy Crossley . Many visitors see them as harmless symbols of eternal romance, but there is a growing campaign to stop lovers attaching padlocks engraved with their names to bridges in Paris. Since the early 2000s, couples have been leaving 'love locks' bearing their names or initials on a number of bridges across Europe, and throwing the key into the rivers as a sign of their devotion. However, with some of Paris's most picturesque routes over the Seine now covered in the padlocks, a campaign has started to ban the practice, amid fears that the weight of the locks could be putting some of the French capital's landmarks at risk. Bridge too far: The No Love Locks campaign has been set up to ban couples from leaving padlocks bearing their names or initials on bridges in Paris, such as the Pont des Arts (pictured) and throwing the keys into the Seine . Set up by two American ex-pats living in the city, the No Love Locks campaign is calling on the newly-elected mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, to outlaw love locks, which organisers describe as 'a plague on our city's historic bridges and sites'. An online petition set up by Lisa Anselmo and Lisa Taylor-Huff has garnered more than 1,900 signatures since it went live at the start of this month, with Parisians and tourists alike joining the calls for the locks to be banned. Among the bridges baring the weight of thousands of padlocks are the Pont des Arts, and the narrower Pont de l'Archevêché, where love locks started appearing in 2010 after padlocks were removed from the Pont des Arts by an art student for a sculpture. Ms Anselmo said she was prompted to start her campaign in November, after noticing that the Pont de l’Archevêché, which connects Notre Dame with the Quai de Montebello, had fallen prey to love locks. No love lost: Ms Anselmo started the campaign to ban the locks after noticing that the Pont de l¿Archevêché, which connects Notre Dame with the Quai de Montebello had fallen prey to love locks . 'It had been inundated by an infestation of locks, a dense metallic clump of “love,” that crept over the side of the bridge like a fungus,' she said on the campaign's blog. 'And the size of some locks was shocking—huge, some up to four inches across. Heavy bike locks had been attached to the bridge, seemingly to create an additional surface for hanging more locks since all the available meshing was used up. 'Graffiti had sprouted on the stone wall where locks were unable to be attached. People had taken to scratching messages in the paint on the railing. 'This wasn’t love. It felt like madness, like an invading army had seized the bridge. I’d known the Pont des Arts was falling prey to this mania, but now this bridge? I became like a crazy person. This was a bridge too far.' Writer and singer Ms Anselmo, who moved to Paris in 2012, was even more incensed to find that the Pont de l’Archevêché had been nicknamed 'Love Lock Bridge', and was being advertised as such to tourists, as well as on Google maps. 'It had been inundated by an infestation of locks, a dense metallic clump of "love" that crept over the side of the bridge like a fungus' Lisa Anselmo . After joining forces with writer Ms Taylor-Huff, she started the campaign and petition, calling on the Mayor of Paris, the 20 arrondissement mayors and the city council for a ban to be made law so the bridges can be returned to their 'original beauty and purpose'. They already have the backing of the mayor of the 6th arrondissement, Jean-Pierre Lecoq, who has described the locks as 'madness', and has expressed fears that a lock could fall onto a passing tourist boat travelling underneath one of the bridges, potentially injuring a passenger. Ms Anselmo and Ms Taylor-Huff say there are now approximately 700,000 of the locks in Paris, including some which have started appearing on lampposts, and estimate that the additional weight of the padlocks on each metre of grillwork would be around 300kg, or 660lbs. They say this is putting the structures at risk, with the Pont des Arts carrying an extra 93 tonnes of weight, and the Pont de l'Archevêché an extra 40 tonnes, as well as the locks becoming an eyesore. 'The Pont des Arts is just a little footbridge and is now holding 93 metric tonnes from the locks; regularly the grill work collapses,' Ms Anselmo told the Guardian. 'The city replaces it and two weeks later it fills up again. Sadly a ban seems to be the only way.' On lock down: Two years ago Dublin City Council removed padlocks from the Ha'penny Bridge over the River Liffey . Concerns have previously been raised over the locks, and in May 2010 the City Hall said that the locks could potentially cause problems for the preservation of Paris's heritage. The locks on the Pont des Arts vanished that same month, although they were later revealed to have been removed by a student at the city's École des Beaux-Arts. Police have also been known to patrol the bridge preventing couples from throwing keys into the river, while the city's official website notes the damage the locks can do - encouraging visitors to leave a digital 'e-love lock' as an alternative. The site says sections of railings have been weakened by the weight of the locks, and both grates and railings on some bridges have needed to be replaced. 'Paris claims the title of the capital of love and has hitherto shown a certain tolerance regarding padlocks,' it states. 'The City Hall keeps on top of the situation by ensuring the replacement of damaged railings. 'Nevertheless, if the tradition continues to grow in popularity and causes too much damage to the city’s monuments, solutions will be considered in a bid to address the problem without breaking the hearts of those who have sealed their undying love for each other to the Parisian bridges.' In Florence, Italy, officials took steps to remove all of the padlocks from the Ponte Vecchio to preserve the bridge, and love locks were banned on the Ponte Milvio in Rome after a lamppost on the bridge collapsed under the weight of the locks. Two years ago Dublin City Council removed padlocks from the Ha'penny Bridge over the River Liffey.
No Love Locks campaign wants padlocks banned from bridges in city .
Fears the weight from the padlocks could be putting the structures at risk .
Love locks have been left by couples who throw the key into the Seine .
Online petition to ban the locks has more than 1,900 signatures .
By . Lucy Crossley . Many visitors see them as harmless symbols of eternal romance, but there is a growing campaign to stop lovers attaching padlocks engraved with their names to bridges in Paris. Since the early 2000s, couples have been leaving 'love locks' bearing their names or initials on a number of bridges across Europe, and throwing the key into the rivers as a sign of their devotion. However, with some of Paris's most picturesque routes over the Seine now covered in the padlocks, a campaign has started to ban the practice, amid fears that the weight of the locks could be putting some of the French capital's landmarks at risk. Bridge too far: The No Love Locks campaign has been set up to ban couples from leaving padlocks bearing their names or initials on bridges in Paris, such as the Pont des Arts (pictured) and throwing the keys into the Seine . Set up by two American ex-pats living in the city, the No Love Locks campaign is calling on the newly-elected mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, to outlaw love locks, which organisers describe as 'a plague on our city's historic bridges and sites'. An online petition set up by Lisa Anselmo and Lisa Taylor-Huff has garnered more than 1,900 signatures since it went live at the start of this month, with Parisians and tourists alike joining the calls for the locks to be banned. Among the bridges baring the weight of thousands of padlocks are the Pont des Arts, and the narrower Pont de l'Archevêché, where love locks started appearing in 2010 after padlocks were removed from the Pont des Arts by an art student for a sculpture. Ms Anselmo said she was prompted to start her campaign in November, after noticing that the Pont de l’Archevêché, which connects Notre Dame with the Quai de Montebello, had fallen prey to love locks. No love lost: Ms Anselmo started the campaign to ban the locks after noticing that the Pont de l¿Archevêché, which connects Notre Dame with the Quai de Montebello had fallen prey to love locks . 'It had been inundated by an infestation of locks, a dense metallic clump of “love,” that crept over the side of the bridge like a fungus,' she said on the campaign's blog. 'And the size of some locks was shocking—huge, some up to four inches across. Heavy bike locks had been attached to the bridge, seemingly to create an additional surface for hanging more locks since all the available meshing was used up. 'Graffiti had sprouted on the stone wall where locks were unable to be attached. People had taken to scratching messages in the paint on the railing. 'This wasn’t love. It felt like madness, like an invading army had seized the bridge. I’d known the Pont des Arts was falling prey to this mania, but now this bridge? I became like a crazy person. This was a bridge too far.' Writer and singer Ms Anselmo, who moved to Paris in 2012, was even more incensed to find that the Pont de l’Archevêché had been nicknamed 'Love Lock Bridge', and was being advertised as such to tourists, as well as on Google maps. 'It had been inundated by an infestation of locks, a dense metallic clump of "love" that crept over the side of the bridge like a fungus' Lisa Anselmo . After joining forces with writer Ms Taylor-Huff, she started the campaign and petition, calling on the Mayor of Paris, the 20 arrondissement mayors and the city council for a ban to be made law so the bridges can be returned to their 'original beauty and purpose'. They already have the backing of the mayor of the 6th arrondissement, Jean-Pierre Lecoq, who has described the locks as 'madness', and has expressed fears that a lock could fall onto a passing tourist boat travelling underneath one of the bridges, potentially injuring a passenger. Ms Anselmo and Ms Taylor-Huff say there are now approximately 700,000 of the locks in Paris, including some which have started appearing on lampposts, and estimate that the additional weight of the padlocks on each metre of grillwork would be around 300kg, or 660lbs. They say this is putting the structures at risk, with the Pont des Arts carrying an extra 93 tonnes of weight, and the Pont de l'Archevêché an extra 40 tonnes, as well as the locks becoming an eyesore. 'The Pont des Arts is just a little footbridge and is now holding 93 metric tonnes from the locks; regularly the grill work collapses,' Ms Anselmo told the Guardian. 'The city replaces it and two weeks later it fills up again. Sadly a ban seems to be the only way.' On lock down: Two years ago Dublin City Council removed padlocks from the Ha'penny Bridge over the River Liffey . Concerns have previously been raised over the locks, and in May 2010 the City Hall said that the locks could potentially cause problems for the preservation of Paris's heritage. The locks on the Pont des Arts vanished that same month, although they were later revealed to have been removed by a student at the city's École des Beaux-Arts. Police have also been known to patrol the bridge preventing couples from throwing keys into the river, while the city's official website notes the damage the locks can do - encouraging visitors to leave a digital 'e-love lock' as an alternative. The site says sections of railings have been weakened by the weight of the locks, and both grates and railings on some bridges have needed to be replaced. 'Paris claims the title of the capital of love and has hitherto shown a certain tolerance regarding padlocks,' it states. 'The City Hall keeps on top of the situation by ensuring the replacement of damaged railings. 'Nevertheless, if the tradition continues to grow in popularity and causes too much damage to the city’s monuments, solutions will be considered in a bid to address the problem without breaking the hearts of those who have sealed their undying love for each other to the Parisian bridges.' In Florence, Italy, officials took steps to remove all of the padlocks from the Ponte Vecchio to preserve the bridge, and love locks were banned on the Ponte Milvio in Rome after a lamppost on the bridge collapsed under the weight of the locks. Two years ago Dublin City Council removed padlocks from the Ha'penny Bridge over the River Liffey.
and throwing the key into the rivers as a sign of of the locks could be putting some of the French No Love Locks campaign has been set up to ban in the city, the No Love Locks campaign is more than 1,900 signatures since it went live at be banned. Among the bridges baring the weight of They say this is putting the structures at risk, all of the padlocks from the Ponte Vecchio to