Stolen Gary the Gorilla statue discovered in layby

BEAR Scotland staff found the giant gorilla statue on the A92

A giant gorilla statue which was stolen from a Lanarkshire garden centre a year ago has been reunited with its owner.

The 8ft (2.4m) fibreglass ornament, named Gary the Gorilla, was reported missing from Reynard Nursery in Carluke last March.

In the weeks that followed a similar primate was spotted tied to a trailer on motorways across England.

But it was later established that this was actually a "brother" made by the same manufacturer.

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Bear Scotland staff, responsible for maintaining Scotland's trunk roads network, discovered Gary in a layby in the A92 near Dundee and reunited it with its owners after reading a BBC Scotland News article about the theft.

They tracked down the garden centre on social media and arranged for it to be collected by owner Andrew Scott.

Reynard Nursery was sent a series of photos of the gorilla statue on a trailer

The original Gary statue was reported stolen on Sunday 19 March last year.

CCTV showed a car arrived at the nursery around 22:30 before the occupants unbolted the ornament.

A van returned nearly two hours later and removed Gary from the premises.

The vehicle was last seen leaving the garden centre and heading in the general Glasgow direction.

Gary the Gorilla is dressed up to mark special occasions like Christmas

Mr Scott said Gary, who was used as a signpost to the centre, was popular among locals and had welcomed visitors for the last ten years.

The statue was dressed up for Christmas and even sported a face mask during the pandemic.

In April last year, Mr Scott had high hopes of a reunion when he was sent photos of a similar-looking gorilla tied to a trailer on the M25 and on the M40 near Warwick.

However once the police mapped out the movements of the gorilla, it was determined that the ornament was one of several versions made by the manufacturer.

Mr Scott previously told BBC Scotland News how Gary came from a "fairly extended family", but he remained "convinced" he would be found.