After planners were told it posed a risk to visitors if it remained in a public park, a stone lion which sits on top of a Midlothian war memorial is to be replaced. Nicknamed Leo, the lion was placed in Loanhead’s Memorial Park as part of a memorial for locals who lost their lives in the Second World War. But concrete repairs carried out over the years have led to cracks and further damage leaving it beyond further work. In a statement from an expert stonemason who examined Leo, planning officers have been told years of repairs using cement have made repairing it not a long term solution. “Given its location and depth, this defect presents a heightened risk, particularly in a public park setting where the monument is accessible to visitors.”