Dinosaur in Weymouth Bay!

A lifesize model of a tyrannosaurus that was abandoned on a Dorset beach has been towed away by health and safety officers.

The 20ft (6m) scrap-metal dinosaur was intended to become a light-hearted landmark on the Jurassic Coast of Dorset. Instead it is likely to be returned to scrap after officials decided that it was a health hazard.

The sculpture was towed by tractor 150 yards out into Weymouth Bay at low tide and unhitched in the dead of night. When the tide fell in the morning the creature appeared to be emerging from the waves. Lifeguards and council officials failed to see the funny side and condemned the iron sculpture as a dangerous underwater obstacle.

Paul Swaffield, the tyrannosaurus’s owner, is now demanding its return from Weymouth and Portland Borough Council. He commissioned the £2,000 model, called Tex, as part of a dinosaur theme at the Great Dorset Maize Maze, an attraction he owns. He says that he decided to tow it into the sea to give the Jurassic Coast, a Unesco World Heritage Site, extra “wow factor”…….more in the Times!….and the Telegraph!! Great comments in the local Echo as well!!

Where did the dinosaur come from? Mr Mark House of Mowlem Metalcraft in Dorchester might know something about it…???