Animatronic dinosaur catches fire at Ashton Court

Visitors watched as one of the animatronic dinosaurs caught fire at Ashton Court

An animatronic dinosaur has gone up in flames in the grounds of the Ashton Court Estate in Bristol.

The 10m (32ft) long diplodocus was one of 50 moving models in the Jurassic Encounter exhibition, which is due to open in the country park on Saturday.

Visitors noticed smoke rising above the treeline at about 11:00 BST and two fire engines were sent to deal with it.

Childminder Claire Etherington was there and said: "All of a sudden dark plumes of smoke rose above the trees."

She was with a group of children at the time.

"I took the children to Ashton Court this morning to see them setting up the dinosaurs," she said.

"We went over to look and saw the burning diplodocus - two fire engines arrived and a firefighter used a hose to put out the fire."

She said the children had been fascinated by the combination of the dinosaurs, the fire and the fire engines.

"It was a trip to remember," she added.

'Realistic roaring'

Fire crews have described the cause of the fire as "accidental ignition".

On its website, Jurassic Encounters states that all of the dinosaurs have robotic movements, including moving arms, tails, heads and jaws, as well as blinking eyes and jaws that can open and close.

The dinosaurs also have "realistic roaring sound effects," the website states.

A spokeswoman for Avon Fire and Rescue Service said: "Crews from Bedminster and Temple we called to reports of a fire at Ashton Court at 10:55.

"On arrival crews found the diplodocus in the dinosaur display was on fire.

"The diplodocus was 10 metres long and 6 metres tall.

"One firefighter wearing breathing apparatus and a high-pressure hose extinguished the fire."

The Jurassic Encounter exhibition has been touring the UK since April and features dinosaurs from the Jurassic, Triassic and Cretaceous periods.

Its website states: "Visitors will walk a perilous path through grasslands and woodlands and come face-to-face with snarling, roaring and hissing dinosaurs amongst the trees, bushes and woods."

The operators of the exhibition have been approached for comment.