The protective shield covering the British royal coat of arms at the old courts in occupied Nicosia has remained broken for around six months, exposing the colonial emblem to the elements, it was reported on Saturday.

According to the Turkish Cypriot newspaper Kibris Postasi, the transparent panel, which has shielded the emblem for many years, cracked in May and has not been replaced since.

The old courts were constructed between 1900 and 1904 under British colonial rule on the site once occupied by the ruins of the Lusignan palace, the medieval residence of the Frankish kings.

Designed by Charles Bellamy, the then director of public works, the building originally housed the law courts, the postal service, the land registry office and the police, before further blocks were added to the east and west by the 1920s.

The crest is in a stare of disrepair

The British royal coat of arms was placed at the building’s entrance, and also remains over old government house, presently the presidential palace currently used by President Nikos Christodoulides.

The courts building underwent renovation between 1998 and 2009, though the coat of arms has remained largely unchanged and is now in a state of dilapidation.