DOZENS of safari animals are swapping the Serengeti for Sale this summer.

A lorry full of zoo animals arrived in Sale last week, marking the start of Sale Art Zoo.

Twenty junior animals, including elephants, zebras, giraffes, rhinos and hippos, will be taking up residence on the town centre streets for eight weeks this summer.

The fibre glass sculptures have been shipped from China and will be decorated by Sale primary school children.

The biggest animal is a 12-foot giraffe, which will be decorated by Fiona Gardens’ residents and pupils from Park Road Primary School.

Two by Two, a community group which organises creative, family-focused art events in Sale, is spearheading the colourful project.

Zoe Taylor, founder of Two by Two, said: “The Art Zoo is about celebrating George Mottershead, the founder of Chester Zoo who was born and raised in Sale. It is fantastic to see the animals arrive finally.”

Two by Two received funding for the junior animals from Equity Housing, Thrive Trafford and Trafford Housing Trust’s Community Panels.

Zoe and fellow founder Anna Chopping are hoping to add some adult animal sculptures to their exhibition and are asking businesses in Sale to consider sponsorship.

“We would love to have some of the large scale animals – we have elephants, zebras and lions we’d love to include in the exhibition,” said Anna.

“They would be decorated by professional artists and would really put Sale on the map for the summer. This will be a fantastic event and a great opportunity for local businesses to work with the community in celebrating this story from Sale.”

The animals will take to the streets of Sale in July, alongside an exhibition about George Mottershead at Sale Library. Once the exhibition has ended, the animals will be ‘adopted’ by nearby primary schools.

Anyone interested in sponsoring an adult animal sculpture should contact Two by Two by emailing anna.chopping@twobytwohurrah.co.uk.