Young dinosaur hunters were welcome to feed the giant reptiles but were advised not to pull their tails at special Jurassic-themed events at the weekend.

Award-winning children’s entertainment company Dino2Hire escorted a whole herd of dinosaurs from their home in Lowestoft, Norfolk, north to County Durham.

Organised by the Empire Electric Palace Theatre charity, backed by the Postcode Neighbourhood Trust, it allowed for low pricing for tickets to ensure sell-outs for the two Roarsome Roadshow events at Willington’s Spectrum Leisure Centre.

The Northern Echo:

The budding palaeontologists got to learn all about the pre-historic visitors, with educational snippets taking place in between the appearance of the various dancing dinos.

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But the level of dinosaur knowledge of the very young audience put many of their adult minders to shame.

The Northern Echo:

Helen Wood, a trustee of the theatre charity, said: “We were amazed by the realistic appearance of the dinosaurs and the reaction of the young people.

"We were just blown away.”

Dino2Hire is a children’s entertainment company keen to give performance opportunities to young people from various backgrounds, some of whom may not have had the best of starts in life.

Members are proud to have been nominated for the Best Children's Entertainment awards 2023.

The Northern Echo:

That is on top of their success in winning regional Best Children’s Entertainment Company awards for the last two years.

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The reaction of the young audience members at Willington, on Saturday, was testimony to those award nominations.

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Young audience gently stroked the baby dinosaurs, then Indominus Rex dominated the sports hall and the Spinosaurus showed his love of demonstrating his dance skills.

The Northern Echo:

Making a star appearance, though, was Donald, the seven-metre-long T-Rex, the largest of its species in the UK, who really stole the show with his Gangnam-style dancing.

Saturday’s two Roarsome Roadshow events were followed by Baby Dinos Roadshow performances at the cricket club in nearby Crook, on Sunday.