Bristol's Shaun the Sheep sculptures rounded up

Some of the Shauns posing for a photo shoot to launch the trail in July

Seventy Shaun the Sheep sculptures are being removed from sites across Bristol later, as the fund-raising trail ends.

The colourful sculptures have attracted people from across the world since they were installed eight weeks ago.

The free trail is run by children's hospital charity the Grand Appeal - much of the money is raised when the Shauns are auctioned in October.

While official figures are not yet ready, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have taken part.

More than 200,000 maps have been given away and the trail app has been downloaded about 80,000 times - including in the US, Japan and Australia.

The sculptures of the popular Aardman character are individually painted by artists and some celebrities among others.

Before the Bristol trail began in July, another 50 Shauns were on display across London.

Fork lift trucks will move in from 17:00 BST on Monday to remove the steel-reinforced fibreglass figures, which, along with their concrete bases, can weigh three quarters of a tonne.

They will then be cleaned up before an exhibition of all the sculptures from Bristol and London at the Mall shopping centre in Cribbs Causeway, near Bristol from 12 September.

They will return to London for a second exhibition in Covent Garden, before the final auction in Bristol on 8 October.

John Hirst, chief executive of Destination Bristol, said the trail had given Bristol a boost, which was continuing thanks to Banksy's surprise Dismaland exhibition in Weston-super-Mare.