The last statue of General Franco in Spain is to be withdrawn almost 34 years after the death of the dictator.

The regional government of Melilla, one of Spain's North African enclaves along with Ceuta, said the bronze statue of General Franco would be removed "within the period of 15 days".

The move means no more commemorative figures will stand in public streets to the man who ruled Spain between the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 and his death in November, 1975.

Daniel Conesa, spokesman for the Melilla regional government, said the statue, which shows Franco standing, would be kept in storage then transferred to a military museum.

The Melilla government is removing the effigy of El Caudillo in compliance with the controversial Law of Historical Memory, which offers redress to victims or their relatives who were killed or "disappeared" during the Civil War and its aftermath.

Under the law, introduced in 2007, local authorities must remove symbols of the dictator or his supporters such as statues or plaques and change road names associated with the regime.

But many right-wing local authorities have resisted attempts by campaigners to force them to comply with the legislation.

Melilla had refused to take down its statue of Franco, claiming it was erected in 1975 as a tribute to the "commander of the Legion of Melilla", not as a homage to the dictator.

General Franco fought in the Spanish Rif war against Moroccan tribesman and, in 1921, led a partial victory in Melilla. As the law did not give councils any cash to remove statues of Franco or his supporters, many dragged their heals over the subject.

Last year, Santander city council removed the last statue to General Franco still standing on the Spanish mainland, four years after pledging to do so.

Despite the removal of statues of Franco, there are scores of roads, plaques or other public monuments around Spain which have associations with the dictatorship. Die-hard supporters of General Franco are also trying to restore some statues removed before the present law.

Felix Morales, vice-president of the Francisco Franco Foundation, told The Times the organisation is to launch a legal appeal to restore a statue withdrawn in 2005 in Madrid.

The move comes after the High Court in Madrid ruled the Spanish Government did not follow proper procedures when it removed a statue of Franco on horseback. But the court said it could not be restored.

"We plan to appeal as we have new evidence to suggest that the statue should be restored," said Mr Morales.

The removal of statues of General Franco has proved a highly divisive subject. The Association for the Recuperation of the Historical Memory, which campaigns for victims of the Franco era, applauds the move but says the law should go further.

But those on the Right, like the conservative opposition Popular Party, say it simply re-opens painful wounds from the past.

For Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister, the most difficult question will be the fate of the Valley of the Fallen, the huge mausoleum to the late dictator outside Madrid.

Campaigners hope it will be turned into a museum to teach future generations about Spanish history, but Spain's socialist government has so far dodged this issue.

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