The padlocks - engraved to symbolise the lasting love of the couples who left them - were removed last month without warning.

Council yesterday issued an apology to affected couples and invited them to collect the dislodged hardware.

Shellharbour couple Sonya and Maurice Lorenz, who attached a lock as part of their wedding ceremony in March 2010, plan to retrieve their padlock because of its sentimental value.

They were alarmed to find it missing on a recent visit to the lookout and believe council should have given advance warning.

"If the padlocks are compromising the structural integrity of the railing we fully understand because safety is important," Mrs Lorenz said.

"But before they [removed them] they should have notified the public - put a notice in the paper or put a sign up or made some attempt to let people know."

The Lorenzes attached their padlock to the lookout railing after reciting their wedding vows on March 7, 2010. Afterwards they threw the keys into the escarpment as 60 guests cheered on. The padlock, like their union, wouldn't be undone.

They returned to the lookout at the weekend because they wanted to size up the railing for two smaller locks they planned to attach for their daughters, 11-week-old Shalomae and Helena, who was stillborn in December 2010.

"You've got to look at it realistically and say it's just padlocks, but there's also the sentimentality attached to it, and wanting to continue the tradition," Mrs Lorenz said.

A spokesman for Wollongong City Council said the locks contravened the management of assets policy and were removed because they were causing deterioration and damage to the lookout fencing.

"The metal locks cause corrosion of the fencing, which will drastically reduce the service life of the fencing," he said.

"Council made the decision to remove the locks to prolong the life of this asset.

"Council has removed locks from other locations in the city in the past.

"Council apologises for not advising members of the public in advance."

The spokesman invited people to pick up their locks at Wollongong Botanic Garden's administration building between 9am and 4pm, or phone 4225 2636 to arrange another time.

In a story on the love locks trend published in the Mercury in May last year, a Wollongong City Council spokesman said the padlock practice did not contravene by-laws and the council would not be removing them.

Love locks are common at landmarks in major cities around the world, inspired by a scene in the novel Ho Voglia De Te (I Want You), by Federico Moccia.

The craze has been banned in parts of Italy, and locks have been removed from Venice's Ponte del Accademia and its 16th century Rialto, in consideration of its ancient stonework.