A historic structure which was removed from the roof of a flagship Princes Street store is set to be reinstated by the end of June.

The RW Forsyth Sphere was taken down from the A-listed building, which houses Topshop, for repairs four years ago.

The steel sphere is flanked by cherubic figures and displays the signs of the zodiac.

Thousands signed a petition calling on Topshop owners Arcadia to restore the sphere to the site.

Edinburgh City Council gave Arcadia an enforcement order requiring it to reinstate the structure by March 15 this year.

It failed to meet that deadline, however, the retail giant insisted that it was preparing an "updated programme" for the works.

It has now emerged that it intends to restore the intricate item - which dates back more than a century - on June 26 and 27.

A spokeswoman for the city council said: "It is encouraging the Arcadia has given a date for the return of the sphere, and we will continue to closely monitor the situation."

Workers discovered the structure had fallen into disrepair during work to convert the top three floors of the building into a Travelodge hotel.