The whale bone arch was created from a cast of a fin whale jaw

A 56ft fin whale - second only in size to the blue whale - was washed ashore on Coll in February 2004.

The jawbones were removed by locals who thought they should stay in the Inner Hebrides as a permanent reminder.

They were eventually recovered and handed over to the National Museums of Scotland (NMS). Casts were made and have now been put up by volunteers.

Unusual event

The whale was nicknamed Collette by schoolchildren and a plaque beside the replicas explains the unusual story behind the giant mandibles.

John Fraser, overseas direction of gap year organisation Project Trust whose volunteers erected the casts, said it had entered island folklore.

I think the island wanted something as a keepsake and because we couldn't keep the originals we just had to make do with the casts, which are actually very good John Fraser Project Trust overseas director

He said: "We have fixed them at a point where the general public can see them just above the pier.

"It is such an unusual event to have a whale this size. I think it was one of the biggest whales in the British Isles for a good number of years.

Mr Fraser added: "I think the island wanted something as a keepsake and because we couldn't keep the originals we just had to make do with the casts, which are actually very good."

NMS launched an appeal for the missing bones after the incomplete skeleton was moved to Edinburgh in March 2004.

The blubber and soft tissue was removed from the skeleton, which was transported by truck and ferry to NMS research facilities in the capital.

However, it emerged that the 12ft long jawbones - which weigh about 250kg - had gone missing.