THE North-East was transported back in time when the spectacular Walking With Dinosaurs tour arrived in Newcastle.

The £10m show played to a packed Metro Radio Arena over a five-day pre-historic extravaganza, which brought dinosaurs to life with an aweinspiring mix of robotics and puppetry. The audience, both young and old, was left aghast as the dinosaurs, some 12 metres long, roared, fought, ate and even broke wind during the 80-minute show.

From harmless herbivores, such as the Brachiosaurus, to predatory carnivores, such as the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex, pictured, show director Ian Waller had left no detail to chance.

Even eye movements and sounds were choreographed to make the audience believe they were watching these giants 220 million years ago.

Apparently, there were at least three puppeteers operating the biggest of the dinosaurs, both within the creatures and from the sidelines, but so smooth was the execution that you would hardly have known.

In fact, so life-like were the dinosaurs, my six-year-old son took some convincing that the biggest of the dinos weren’t going to reach over and steal his popcorn or bite him.

The show was a mix of fun, escape and history lesson as it took us on a journey through the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.

It may have been the same show that visited the region in 2009, but it still had all the entertainment and wow factor that it displayed back then.

It’s not a show that anyone could tire of.