A restoration on a piece of artwork is being criticised, for leaving the sculpture looking nothing like the original.

The wooden sculpture, dating back to the 16th century, is of San Jorge (St George).

It sits inside a church in the town of Estella in northern Spain.

The company in charge of the restoration reportedly uploaded a Facebook video showing the project, but it has since been taken down.

The ACRE has criticised the work | Image: ACRE

In a statement, the Association of Conservators and Restorers of Spain (ACRE) said: "We cannot tolerate more attacks against cultural heritage.

"The repainting of San Jorge in Estella, Navarra, confirms that intervention in cultural heritage must be regulated.

"It is necessary to denounce this type of aggression, cultural heritage is at stake."

Spanish newspaper El País claimed that church managers hired an arts-and-crafts workshop to carry out the restoration.

The parish priest wanted the sculpture to be cleaned and did not intend for it to be restored, the Efe news agency reported.

It has drawn comparisons to a botched restoration of another religious painting in Spain back in 2012.

The 'Ecce Homo' painting before and after its 'restoration' | File photo

An elderly women, whose heart was in the right place, attempted to restore the damaged fresco of 'Ecce Homo' - only to create an amateur masterpiece with the disastrous results.

The now-famous repair job has become a massive tourist draw, that has brought hundreds of thousands of visitors to the city of Borja since 2012.

The fresco was all but unknown until the woman attempted to restore it to its former glory.