Jurassic lark: Students caught stealing giant model dinosaur from museum in drunken prank



This is the moment a group of students tried to abduct a giant model dinosaur from a museum as a drunken prank.

The young men had been out celebrating the end of their course when they walked past the life-size monster.

Deciding to relocate it in the middle of a roundabout as a joke, they set about lifting the 20ft long and 10ft tall plastic triceratops.

D'you think they 'saur-us? The students lifted the huge plastic triceratops over the iron gate outside the Dinosaur Museum in Dorchester



It took ten of them carry the giant model over an iron gate outside the Dinosaur Museum in Dorchester, Dorset.

But just as they carried it off above their heads into the night, they were stopped in their tracks by a policeman.

The revellers were ordered to take the dinosaur back immediately otherwise they would have been arrested for theft and criminal damage.

Student Steve Fry said: 'One of the guys on the course said he had always wanted to take the dinosaur for a laugh and wanted to know if we were all up for it.

'The police caught 14 of us in the High Street at about 2.30 am - we'd managed to get it half way up there.

'The police asked us to take it back which we did quite willingly and I have to admit they found it quite funny.'

He added: 'We were really sorry for causing any hassle and we are in the process of paying for the slight damages that the triceratops sustained whilst we lifted it over the fence.'

Mammoth task: It took ten of them to carry the model out into the night before they were stopped by a policeman



Inspector Les Fry, of Dorchester Police, said he had never heard of anyone trying to take the dinosaur before.

He said: 'The young people involved have apologised to the manager of the museum both verbally and in writing.

'This was an ill-advised prank and I would advise against such an action.'



The students all studied at Kingston Maurward College, a further education college specialising in agricultural studies.

A spokesman for the college said: 'We do understand that some of our students were involved in the taking of the dinosaur.

'Naturally as a college we don't support this kind of behaviour and we have spoken to those involved.'



The Dinosaur Museum in Dorchester is packed full of life-sized reconstructions of dinosaurs, alongside skeletons and fossils.

Manager Tim Batty declined to comment on the situation until it has been investigated by police.

The museum's website says the models 'beg to be touched by little hands - and that is encouraged, as is the handling of some of the dinosaur fossils.'

