Bristol man installs giant dinosaur sculpture in front garden

A man from Bristol has installed a 10-foot dinosaur sculpture in his front garden to “give people something to smile about".  

Ben Maddocks, who lives in Knowle West, has put the T-Rex statue on top of a shipping container which he uses as a garage. 

The 50-year-old originally bought the metalwork from a garden centre in Brean for his six-year-old son Noah, who is "into dinos big time”.  

“When we saw it up for sale, we thought we would buy that for Noah,” explained Ben from his home on Throgmorton Road.   

“Because of Noah being autistic and into dinosaurs, he’s got boxes, boxes and boxes of dinos.” 

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The dinosaur has been living in Ben’s back garden for about three years, but the dad-of-eight recently decided he wanted to put it on the roof of his house. 

“It weighs about a quarter of a tonne, so we were worried it might come through the ceiling,” he added. 

“So I bought myself a shipping container, which is my garage, and thought I’d put it there to give children something to smile about.

“There’s not a lot to smile about lately, so it’s making kids' days."

The nine-foot-six sculpture is made out of metal, and Ben says he was able to get it on the container with “great difficulty”. 

"I lifted it on with ropes and stuff but got it up there,” he said. “He’s well bolted down as you don’t want that falling on your head!"

Avid biker Ben also voluntarily runs Bikers in Bristol as well as being a full-time carer for his dad. 

“If I come across something a bit weird, different or unusual, I normally buy it because, as my wife says, that’s the way I am,” he continued. 

“We just get on with things and enjoy it, and if the kids are happy, I’m happy."