Statues of Confederate generals have been covered in the US city of Charlottesville.

The decision to drape the statues with black tarps was unanimously agreed by town councillors.

They had previously voted to remove the statues - but the process has been halted due to a pending lawsuit.

While officials wait for that decision, the statues of Robert E Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson have now been covered.

The proposed removal of the statues led to the white nationalist protests in the Virginia city earlier this month.

Demonstrators clashed with counter-protesters, leaving one woman dead and several people injured.

Meanwhile, US media is reporting that Christopher Cantwell - a white nationalist who received widespread attention after featuring prominently in a Vice documentary about Charlottesville - has handed himself into police.

He is believed to be facing a number of charges, including one count of malicious bodily injury with a caustic substance.