Triceratops 'Godshilla' Blocks Road On The Isle Of Wight

"That priceless moment when you're driving home from work at 3am and the road is blocked by a 20ft Triceratops!"
A triceratops statue on the Isle of Wight known locally as Godshilla was moved by pranksters into the middle of the road.
A triceratops statue on the Isle of Wight known locally as Godshilla was moved by pranksters into the middle of the road.
Chris Hollingshead

Here's something you don't see every day: A triceratops blocking traffic.

Last Friday, a massive statue of the cretaceous dinosaur was moved by pranksters into the middle of a road in the village of Godshill on the Isle of Wight in England.

"That priceless moment when you're driving home from work at 3am and the road is blocked by a 20ft Triceratops!!! #‎godblessbeer #‎someoneneedsamedal," Chris Hollingshead, who snapped the photo, wrote in a Facebook post.

Hollingshead said he commutes through Godshill so he immediately recognized the triceratops, which is known locally as Godshilla.

"Shock turned to amusement at what was actually in front of me, but after taking a quick pic I did speak to a police officer," he said.

The police told Hollingshead that they were aware of the unusual roadblock, and the local highway department soon moved it out of the way. Hollingshead also said the statue was so big and obvious that it didn't pose a danger to motorists.

"My car managed to squeeze past it, but a couple of others after me turned round," he said.

Patrons and staff at a local tavern had some suspicions about who had pulled off the prank.

"It must be the same people who tied balloons round its neck and put tinsel over it for Christmas," The Taverners owner Lisa Choi told the County Press. "They've gone one step further this time."

Martin Simpson, who owns both Godshilla and Island Gems, a shop that sells gems and fossils, said it must've taken five people to move the triceratops statue.

"It's great people are talking about it," Simpson told the County Press. "But I wouldn't want to encourage anybody to cause a hazard for traffic."

Godshilla will be painted soon, Simpson said, and then moved into a fenced-in garden so it can't be dino-napped again.

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