Big Sara, cousin of the T-Rex, goes on display in Southampton

One of the most complete examples of an Allosaurus dinosaur has gone on display in Southampton.

With 70 per cent of its skeleton intact, the dinosaur - known as Big Sara - is one of the most complete Allosaurus finds in the world.

The remains were discovered in America and painstakingly removed before being bought by a Bournemouth company which has loaned it out for two years.

The fossil, now on display at the Westquay Shopping Centre, was discovered in 2015 on a hillside in the Morrison Formation in Wyoming, acknowledged as the most fertile source of dinosaur fossils in North America.

James Benamor, CEO of the Richmond Group which bought the dinosaur at auction, said: ''When we bought Big Sara our intention was to share it with as many people as possible. Whilst museums are fine, many children visit them maybe once a year if they are lucky.

"When we looked at where we could put Sara so that as many people as possible could see her as often as possible, Westquay was our first choice.

"As the largest and most popular shopping centre closest to the Jurassic Coast, it was the right place for the apex predator of the Jurassic period."

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He said: "Seeing the real skeleton in the shopping centre will no doubt inspire members of the public to visit museums and potentially even go fossil-hunting to find and collect fossils of their own."