Bjorn the animatronic polar bear wows Christmas shoppers

Bjorn, a life size polar bear which moved, blinked and even made noises, was on view at the town's Old Square shopping centre at the weekend.

The bear proved the star attraction for children on Sunday.

As well as having their pictures taken with the bear, children also learned about the bears and their Arctic habitat.

The bear is a fully animated pod puppet with a performer inside operating all the movements, which include the facial animations and opening of the mouth.

He was joined by herder Ursula. There were three fascinating nature documentary style talks on polar bears and their environment during the day.

The children learned about the world's largest land carnivore, their unique Arctic habitat and the danger they face from global warming. Some children had the opportunity to stroke the bear.

To help set the scene he had a specially built inflatable ice sculpture environment.

Old Square centre manager Linda Brawn Manager said; "We were really looking forward to Bjorn visiting Old Square and it was great to have him here.

"It is a truly stunning polar bear and shoppers were as fascinated as I was. It was a great event to come to Walsall and put everyone in some festive cheer.

"The bear is that realistic many customers thought it was the real thing.

"The show was amazing and it was wonderful to welcome Bjorn and Ursula to Old Square. Children, shoppers and our retailers were totally enthralled by the shows."

Youngsters also enjoyed making special Christmas decorations at the free Christmas workshop at the event.