A Canadian village has refused to remove swastikas from a local park after an activist tried to paint over the controversial symbols.

The Nazi emblems are on an anchor that is on display in Pointe-des-Cascades, about 50 miles west of Montreal in Quebec.

Corey Fleischer, founder of a group called Erasing Hate, was trying to paint over the symbols last Thursday when he was stopped by the local mayor, Gilles Santerre, who called police to have him removed from the park.

"The village of Pointe-des-Cascades does not endorse Nazism," Mr Santerre said in a statement on Tuesday. "Our village has a beautiful community and family spirit, and creates events that bring people together."