GIANT dinosaurs have taken up residence at a Salisbury DIY store, ready to entrance young visitors.

Carl Chambers, managing director of In-Excess on Netherhampton Road, has bought eight coin-operated dinosaurs from China and installed them.

All the cash put into the monsters is being donated to the Stars Appeal breast cancer unit campaign.

He said: “I bought the dinosaurs a year ago when in China.

“I was visiting a dinosaur museum in Chengdu and the factory which makes them was next door.

“I didn’t know quite what to do with them after they’d been shipped in and they stayed boxed up for several months until I thought what a great idea it would be to put them up and get them running and donate the funds to charity.”

At £1 a play, the dinosaurs, which include a Tyrannosaurus rex and a Wuerhosaurus, have been a huge hit with young and old visitors alike.

In just three weeks, around £1,700 has been collected.

Mr Chambers said: “Quite a few people are interested in buying the animals so I think what we’ll do is replace them in three or four months with a new attraction.

“I already have a mammoth and a sabre-toothed tiger on the way.”