For more than 100 years, Dippy the Dinosaur stood solidly on his four feet, greeting visitors at London’s Natural History Museum until he was replaced earlier this year.

But when he returns to Britain next year following extensive restoration work in Toronto, Canada, two of his feet will have vanished.

Dinosaur experts at the NHM are using the opportunity to finally correct a major error that was made when the diplodocus was first assembled a century ago, ahead of a nationwide tour.

Dippy is being given hands.

Although it may seem that a lumbering diplodocus should have four feet, like quadrupedal mammals do today, in fact the dinosaur distributed most of its weight in its back legs and tail, using its front hands merely as tip-toeing guides.