Head of Coventry Zoo's Zulu statue back on public display

The head has been installed in Tony Pedley's shop

The head of the statue of a Zulu warrior that once stood at a zoo's entrance is back on public display.

The 35ft (10.7m) monument was seen by visitors at Coventry Zoo until the attraction closed in 1980.

Most of it was crushed apart from the head and the tip of the spear. They are now owned by antique dealer Tony Pedley, whose shop they can be seen in.

Mr Pedley hopes to use the piece of Coventry history to help raise money for a hospice.

He found out about the pieces of the statue when a friend called him to say he knew a man, who'd "had it in his loft for 30 years".

Mr Pedley runs The 888 Emporium in Coventry, a shop for antiques, collectables and memorabilia.

The statue stood at the entrance to Coventry Zoo until it closed

The statue and spear tip are now mounted on a wall at the shop "in pride of place" after he "made an offer the man couldn't refuse". Mr Pedley told BBC CWR.

'Controversial portrayal'

It is hoped people will now want a picture with the Zulu head, and give a donation to Myton Hospice, said Mr Pedley.

"We lost a very good friend of ours this year, he was only 36, and he was looked after magnificently by Myton."

Coventry Zoo opened in 1966 and closed 14 years later, according to the Coventry Society,.

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Many people will remember the statue that dominated the zoo's entrance, it added.

The figure was considered controversial for its portrayal of African people, according to 1973 Live, an account on X that documents 1970s history.

Its whereabouts were a mystery until 2011 when two brothers said they had the head, the Coventry Telegraph reported in 2011.

The paper said they had found it lying in a scrapyard in the early 1980s.