A local man who installed nine wooden fish sculptures on the wall of an apartment block overlooking Brixham marina has been told to remove the display following a complaint from the estate.

The fish-shaped carvings are attached to an external wall of the community garden adjoining the Moorings Reach Estate.

The figures are the work of artist Dean Ellis, who installed them as part of a garden display for the recent Britain in Bloom Royal Horticultural Show.

Both residents and visitors heaped praise on Mr Ellis, saying on Facebook that his sculptures brightened up the marina.

Celia Harris echoed the views of most by saying the installation was “gorgeous” and “so apt for the area”, while Michael Greenhalgh said he was looking forward to seeing the display during his visit to South Devon in September.

However, joy quickly turned to disbelief when Mr Ellis revealed that he had been told to remove the sculptures.

“I’m afraid it’s a dark day for the fish town community garden. Due to an official complaint within the Moorings Reach Estate, I have been ordered to destroy the new garden installation...the fish must be removed and the wall reinstated to its dull magnolia colour,” said Mr Ellis, who declined to comment directly to this paper.

Following an outpouring of support from Facebook, Mr Ellis briefly changed his mind, saying the positive response towards his display had been “staggering”.

However, it emerged that Mr Ellis had breached two covenants, as he failed to ask for permission to install the carvings on the wall, which belongs to the Moorings Reach estate, and had painted the wall in blue.

Support for Mr Ellis, who admitted the breaches, was unwavering nonetheless. There were calls to set up a petition, and to contact the local MP to sway the complainant’s opinion.

Torbay council waded into the debate, saying in a statement to this paper that despite the ruckus the town’s planning department was “not concerned with the display” as it did not require advertising consent, “and the building is not listed”.

Visitor Lindsay Norman, who arrived in Brixham for the start of his holiday, reflected the overall mood, saying he had headed straight to the garden “to see what all the fuss is about”.

He said: “This is a great unobtrusive bit of art which is just a joy to look at. Not offensive at all, in keeping and just beautiful. Whoever is complaining about it really needs to stop and think about what is really important in life and let people, visitors and locals alike enjoy a bit of art! I hope it's a permanent fixture for years to come!”

However, last week Mr Ellis announced he would be giving up the fight as a contractor had been hired to remove the fish, adding that the wall would be repainted in magnolia, its original colour.

But in a last minute twist, a compromise solution appears to have been reached. Days after conceding defeat, Mr Ellis posted a new comment on Facebook, saying the sculptures will instead be mounted on metal posts along the top shelf in front of the wall.

“We have found out that piece of land is not part of the estate and belongs to the council who have given permission, so there will be no broken covenants and no chance of removal,” said Mr Ellis, who also thanked Torbay council for opening “a line of communication” with the estate managing agents.