Billboards hiding a Victorian church in St Werburgh's are to be pulled down.

Campaigners are celebrating the breakthrough after a long-running battle to get the three giant advertising signs removed from the junction of Ashley Hill and Sevier Street.

Environmental charity Children's Scrapstore, which owns the patch of land the hoardings occupy, has asked billboard company Titan Outdoor to remove them.

Bristol city councillor Jon Rogers, who led the campaign to rid the area of hoardings, said: "This is truly excellent news and thank you to the Scrapstore for taking this definitive step.

"I hope they will come down very early in the New Year. It will make a huge difference to the area and will show off Ivy Church.

"Scrapstore were looking to landscape the area so there's still work to be done to improve it further.

"But getting rid of these will be very welcome – it's right on the edge of the Montpelier conservation area and removing the boards will help restore the area to its former glory."

Bristol City Council had already taken legal action to remove the hoardings.

It served a 'discontinuance notice', a legal document which challenges the continued use of legally-displayed hoardings on the grounds that they are harmful or objectionable to the community.

Advertising hoardings could not be reinstated on the land in the future if the notice is successful.

Campaigners have tried to get the billboards removed for years, claiming them to be ugly and a distraction to motorists.

Children's Scrapstore was reluctant to remove them because leasing the land to a billboard company generated much-needed income, but decided it was in a position where it could end the contract.

"We are happy to confirm that we have sent a notice of cancellation of contract to house the hoardings to the tenant," said spokesman Jeff Hill.

"This is due to the location of possible funding and the outstanding performance of staff at the charity during the last year.

"As we promised, we have done this as soon as we can and at a time when it would not be financially harmful to the service we provide to the children of Bristol.

"It is possible that the hoardings will not actually be removed for a while as we are unsure what legal course the tenant will take from here and so we have to wait for their reply.

"However, in order to present the strongest possibility of a positive outcome we have formed a partnership with Bristol City Council planning office and will work together to bring this to a happy conclusion for everyone concerned.

"We would like to thank the residents of St Werburgh's and surrounding wards for their patience and belief in our method and our promise to achieve this outcome."