Isle of Wight Triceratops Isn't a Real Traffic Stopper

Isle of Wight traffic in the town of Godshill was stopped by a 25-foot triceratops in the middle of the road. It was a model dinosaur, likely left by pranksters, thinks the local media.

Martin Simpson, who bought the fiberglass prop at the Dinosaur Farm in Brighstone in 2007, told the Wight County Press he had been away and didn't know the dinosaur called Godshilla was missing. He said he didn't know about the prank until the newspaper contacted him.

"It must have taken five hefty lads to move it," Simpson said about Godshilla which suffered only minor damage and has since been moved back. "It's great people are talking about it, but I wouldn't want to encourage anybody to cause a hazard for traffic."

Simpson keeps Godshilla at his Island Gems shop, which sells prehistoric gems and fossils, said the Huffington Post.

Godshilla became a social media buzz when Chris Hollingshead snapped a picture of him blocking High Street and posted it on his Facebook page.


"I mean it's typical isn't it? I go away for the weekend someone kidnaps me dinosaur," Simpson told BuzzFeed News.

He said he was thinking about creating a t-shirt that says: "How did the dinosaur cross the road?"

Simpson told the Belfast Telegraph the stolen dinosaur has been a boon for Isle of Wight publicity, adding it has done more than the local tourism board has achieved in the last three years.

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