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Tourists have been evacuated from one of the most iconic bridges in Paris after it began to crumble under the weight of thousands of 'love locks'.

A chunk of the Pont des Arts bridge fell away on Sunday night and the police were called to seal off the area which remains closed today.

It is a popular custom for tourists to secure a padlock to the bridge branded with their names as a romantic gesture, but the weight of the locks is damaging the metal bridge, which was originally completed in 1804 but rebuilt in the 1980s following damage n the two World Wars.

Popular practice: Tourists fix padlocks to the Ponts des Arts to seal their love before throwing keys in the river

A local French police spokesperson said: 'A metal grill had fallen inwards, rather than into the river.

'If it had landed on a passing boat, the results could have been disastrous. As it happened, nobody was injured.

'The bridge was evacuated, and will now be closed until Monday morning at the earliest.'

If follows growing calls for the padlocks - which also blight other major European cities including London - to be banned.

It has become common practice for visitors to buy a padlock, attach it to a bridge, and then throw the key into the river, in Paris's case the Seine.

The practice has been encouraged by American celebrities including Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, who spent a lot of time dating in Paris before their wedding in Italy last month.

Lookout point: The bridge is famed for its spectacular views along the Seine

A 'Not Love Locks' campaign was launched in Paris by two Americans in February, in response to some 700,000 padlocks appearing around the city.

All bridges have been blighted by the practice, but the Pont des Arts now looks like two solid walls of metal divided by a wooden walkway.

'It's so out of control,' says Lisa Anselmo, who co-founded the campaign with fellow writer Lisa Taylor Huff.

'People are climbing up lampposts to clip locks on, hanging over the bridge to put them on the other side of the rail, risking their lives to attach one. It's a kind of mania. It's not about romance any more - it's just about saying 'I did it.'

Love locks: Kim Kardashian and Kanye West also attached a padlock to the bridge when they were in Paris

Protests: A campaign has been started to stop the practice of fixing locks to the bridge - a problem that blights iconic bridges across Europe

Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist mayor of Paris, has so far resisted calls to take action over the vandalism, but the bridge collapse could change that.

A spokesman for the City Hall said: '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.'

The pedestrian Pont des Arts, which links the Louvre Museum and the Institut de France, is an exact replica of one designed by Napoleon Bonaparte's architects in 1802.

The original was damaged by German bombs during both world wars, but a faithful reproduction was built during the 1980s.

It was once considered a hugely romantic bridge, enjoying arguably the prettiest views in the city, but many locals argue the padlocks have turned it into a tourist trap.