IT TOOK a mammoth effort to help Gurnard Pre-School settle in two prehistoric newcomers.
The pre-school has become home to two replica dinosaurs, a four-metre-long sauropod and a triceratops, which arrived on Tuesday at the end of a long journey from a dinosaur park in Germany. The models have been especially made for the pre-school.
The two replica beasts are copies of dinosaurs spotted by pre-school manager Val Munt and her husband, Martin, curator and manager of Dinosaur Isle, Sandown, at the Munich Mineral and Fossil show in 2016.
She thought the models would be a welcome addition to Gurnard Pre-School, where many of the children are dinosaur fans, and she has been working to bring them to the Island ever since.
This week the pair of beasts finally arrived and immediately posed a monster-sized problem — how to get them into their new home — a special area created using landscape features provided by Ecclestone George and
chippings donated by Barlow Tree Surgery.
Help was on hand when a team from Island Roads offered to help move the dinosaurs during a break in nearby work at Egypt Esplanade.
Val said: "At Gurnard Pre School we feel dinosaurs, fossils and our wider geological heritage is a very important part of growing up on the Island, which is full of wonderful geological sites and discoveries. We have set aside a space in our woodland area to give children the opportunity to learn and experience more on the subject. These two new arrivals will be a major part of that — both the staff and children are very excited."

Reporter: martinn@iwcpmail.co.uk