Glasgow's giant safari animals raise £90,000 for charity

Hundreds of bidders, artists, sponsors and spectators attended an auction in the town in the hope of securing one of the statues.

They included a selection of lions, giraffes, elephants, rhinos and gorillas which went under the hammer in the Town Hall.

Clyde the lion designed by artist Debbie Ryan fetched the top price of £6600 followed by a gorilla which sold for £5400 and a giraffe which secured a bid of £4400 with one of the herd being snapped up by a bidder from Cyprus.

Profits from the sale will go to Glasgow Children's Hospital's Schiehallion appeal which will bring more of the latest cancer treatments to Scotland giving young patients the best possible chance of fighting cancer.

Lovely the Gorilla was donated to the hospital with people attending to the auction donating on the night.

During their 10 week stay in Hamilton, the animals involved in the BIG Stampede trail captured the hearts of tens of thousands of visitors who turned out to see them.

Shona Cardle, chief executive of Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity, said: "The trail was a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness and funds for the Schiehallion Appeal which is raising money to support children from across Scotland with cancer and blood disorders."

The fundraising event was organised by Hamilton Business Improvement District in partnership with Wild in Art and resulted in over 100 animals sculptures including almost 80 baby hippos designed by Lanarkshire pupils.

BID manager Gareth Walker said: "The trail has proven a real draw, bringing increased visitors to the town and supporting the local economy.

"It is great to see they will now go to new homes while raising funds for Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity."

The charity, which was formerly called Yorkhill Children's Charity, is at the heart of the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow and raises money to support the 168,000 babies, children and young people treated there each year.