Love was definitely not in the air for Parisian officials on Valentine’s Day as they swooped in to remove the growing mass of padlocks that love-struck couples have shackled to the side of a bridge over the River Seine.

A growing tradition has seen lovers flock from all over world to the French capital to adorn its already groaning bridges with locks labelled with messages of love.

For city authorities, however, the romantic tokens have brought nothing but heartache, as the sheer weight of metal tempts thieves who remove them using wire cutters, causing structural damage as they work.

Even on Valentine’s Day, an operation was in full swing to replace damaged panels adorned with years’ worth of the locks.