Twelve massive animatronic dinosaurs are arriving today in the city.

The creatures will start to arrive this morning in large containers shipped in from Texas.
A giant tyrannosaurus rex, triceratops and other ancient creatures will be taking up residence alongside the Zoo’s 400 animal species, ready
for a summer exhibition which opens at Bristol Zoo later this month.
Dr Bryan Carroll director of Bristol Zoo, said: “It’s fantastic that the dinosaurs are finally here, it is amazing to see them close-up in all their glory – they are quite a spectacle. We are sure that DinoZoo will be a fantastically popular new attraction that will take our guests on a journey that started over 200 million years ago.
He added: “As well as being fantastic fun, this exhibition also presents a great opportunity to tell our guests about the very real extinction threat facing many species in the Zoo and around the world.”

WALLACE and Gromit creator Nick Park has made a short film featuring the animated duo to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Mr Park, right, of Bristol-based Aardman Studios teamed up with the National Trust to make the film called A Jubilee Bunt-a-thon. It features the pair scaling ladders to hoist bunting up around a trust-run manor, and will be shown at 14 National Trust locations, including Tyntesfield in Wraxall, on June 4. A behind-the-scenes documentary will be screened at the trust’s Jubilee parties.

Mr Park said: “I have to pinch myself when I think how far Wallace and Gromit have come. From ideas in my head, to ‘film stars’ working with great organisations such as the National Trust, which the nation holds dear to its heart.

“Wallace and Gromit are in for a cracking summer at the National Trust, which has a special place in my heart from a childhood memory of completing a paint-by-numbers at Stourhead, to Montacute House, on which we based Tottington Hall in The Curse Of The Were-rabbit.”

Tony Berry, of the National Trust, said: “The National Trust and Wallace and Gromit are two of Britain’s greatest treasures and we felt it fitting that in this summer of celebration we should bring them together.”

Wallace and Gromit already have the royal seal of approval, with the Duchess of Cornwall saying earlier this year that they are her husband’s “favourite people in the world”.

A “MAJOR” cocaine dealer convicted of possessing a pistol, silencer and ammunition has been jailed for 15 years.

Bristol Crown Court heard 53-year-old Morris Clarke had been arrested last August after undercover police officers tracked two drug dealers from the city, Darren Edge and Adrian Gough, as they drove to a meeting with him in London.

​Adrian Gough (left) and Darren Edge (Right) have been jailed for cannabis cultivation and conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

After all three men were arrested, cocaine worth £55,000 was found in Edge’s car. A further stash of the class A drug, with a street value of nearly £100,000, was found at Clarke’s home, along with a Beretta pistol, silencer and 12 rounds of 9mm cartridges.

Police also searched an industrial unit in Keynsham rented by Gough, where they seized 10kg of cutting agent benzocaine and a ten-tonne press, used to compress drugs, contaminated with benzocaine and cocaine.

All three men pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to supply a prohibited drug. Clarke, of Sydenham in London, denied possessing a prohibited firearm, ammunition and silencer but was convicted.

During his trial Clarke had denied any knowledge of the gun, which police found hidden in a blocked-off fireplace in his bedroom.

But the jury heard that his fingerprints had been found on a red Next carrier bag in which the weapon and ammunition were found.

Gough, 35, from Siston, was jailed for six years and eight months and Edge, 33, of Southmead, was jailed for five years and four months.

After the case Detective Inspector Simon Wilstead said: “These sentences should demonstrate to the people of Bristol and beyond that we will not tolerate such serious offences and will work with other police forces to combat crime that travels beyond our force boundaries.

“As a result of this operation a substantial quantity of dangerous drugs and a potentially lethal firearm has been taken off our streets. I would like to thank members of the public who continue to support our work by providing us with intelligence that is a key part of our work.”

A man has been hit by a car outside the theatre.

Emergency services were called to the scene on St Augustine’s Parade just before 1pm.

The accident happened at the pedestrian crossing in front of the Hippodrome.

The man has been taken to the BRI for treatment.

The news hasn’t gone down well with some local businesses.

Organisers made the announcement yesterday and say it’s down to concerns about not being able to cover health and safety issues.

The event attracted 100,000 people last year alone and is a valuable source of income for several businesses in the area

Jo Drury is the owner of Cosies Wine bar in Portland Square. She said: “It’s going to be a bad year for everyone I think. On the business side of things obviously we’ll lose the revenue but the community will lose a massive part of what is the carnival and what it means to those in St Pauls and it seems that it’s a rather drastic decision.”

Despite the large crowds last year, fundraising results were very poor and this summer’s event was going to be scaled back before the decision was made to cancel it completely.

Jo said she recognises the hard work of the committee who organise it, but feels more could have been done to save it: “Unfortunately I think they slipped up on the communication side. They could have done more in the early stages to actually raise the public’s awareness of how short of funding they were.

“Unfortunately they’re a victim of their own success. Carnival has got bigger and bigger each year and now they’re struggling to keep up with the health and safety implications of it.”

The carnival board say they will now concentrate their efforts on next year’s parade.

St Pauls Carnival Cancelled
Organisers have pulled the plug on the famous event for this year which attracted 100,000 people to the city last year.

In a statement on their website they say they’ve ‘reluctantly taken the decision to cancel because of ‘uncertainties over the safety of participants and spectators’

Earlier this year it was revealed that because of poor fundraising results at last year’s parade they were planning to scale the event back this year but has now dropped it completely.

Efforts will now be made to make sure the carnival can return properly for 2013.

Following today’s announcement Councillor Simon Cook, Cabinet Member for Culture, Sport and Capital Projects and ward councillors for Ashley Dr Jon Rogers and Gus Hoyt released this joint statement:

“Bristol City Council is of course sad to hear the Carnival Committee’s decision that the 2012 St Pauls Carnival will be cancelled. We remain though fully committed to supporting Carnival, and look forward to it bouncing back bigger and better in 2013 – as it did after earlier cancellations in 2002 and 2006.

“As a concrete sign of our commitment, the City Council will continue to invest our £55,000 grant this year, so that the Carnival Committee can carry on work over the coming months to build a bigger, better and financially-sustainable Carnival for 2013 onwards. We understand that the Arts Council will be prepared to leave its funding in place on the same basis.

“Of course, as guardians of tax payers’ money, we’ll be agreeing a detailed plan with the Carnival Committee over coming weeks, with the
solid milestones we shall be expecting them to achieve over coming months, particularly in terms of community fund-raising, before unlocking future elements of our grant funding. We’ll also be expecting the Carnival Committee to take part in community cohesion work, to bring together the whole community behind Carnival, which is such an integral, and well-loved part of life in St Pauls and Bristol generally. Now is a time for everyone who loves Carnival to unite, and work together for a brilliant event in 2013.”