Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia has smashed sculptures of horses erected on a roundabout in the southwest after the kingdom's top cleric denounced them as sinful, local media reported on Wednesday.

The municipality in the town of Abu Arish in Jazan province bordering Yemen demolished the statues on Tuesday, local online news website jazantoday.org reported.

The decision came after Grand Mufti Abdulaziz al-Shaikh sent a letter to the governor of Jazan demanding that "the sculptures be removed because they are a great sin and are prohibited under sharia (Islamic law)," said another news webitse, sabq.org.

Statues of people and animals are prohibited under Islam as they represent a form of idolatry. However, the religion does allow artworks depicting plants and landscapes.

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