Head of controversial 35ft Zulu warrior statue which stood at the entrance to Coventry Zoo until it closed in 1980 goes back on display – after it was rediscovered lying in a scrapyard

• The statue was dumped in a scrapyard after the zoo closed in 1980
• Head and spear tip were found by two brothers who kept them for decades

The head of a Zulu warrior that once stood at the entrance to Coventry Zoo has gone back on public display after being rediscovered.

The 35ft monument was a familiar sight to visitors at the attraction, which opened in 1966 but closed just 14 years later.

The statue, which was reportedly considered controversial for the way it portrayed African people, was dumped in a scrapyard after the zoo closed and then broke apart.

But the head and the tip of the figure’s spear re-surfaced in 2011 after being found by two brothers who were scouring the scrapyard in the 1980s.

Now the face and spear have been bought by Coventry antiques dealer Tony Pedley, who has put them on display in his shop. He was told that there is also rumoured to be a surviving foot and asked anyone who has it to come forward so the parts can be reunited. 

Coventry Zoo made the news shortly after it opened when a hippo called Harry dragged a 17-year-old keeper into a pool. The animal, which had previously been put to work in a circus, was said to have been angered after suffering from toothache. 

The teenager was saved after the zoo’s head keeper shouted a command to the partly-trained animal and it opened its jaws. 

There was further trouble for the zoo in 1974 when a wild boar broke out of its enclosure after apparently being teased by youths who had thrown stones at it. 

The 35ft monument was a familiar sight to visitors at the attraction, which opened in 1966 but closed just 14 years later. Above: The figure is seen being erected in 1970

The head of a Zulu warrior that once stood at the entrance to Coventry Zoo has gone back on public display after being rediscovered. Above: The warrior and spear tip are now on the wall of the  888 Emporium, a Coventry-based antiques shop run by businessman Tony Pedley

The Zulu statue was built in the 1960s by a Scunthorpe-based firm and then given to Coventry Zoo. 

When the zoo closed, the statue was moved to a scrapyard in Baginton, Coventry. 

According to previous press reports, the yard’s owner, Freddie Barnes, had intended to erect it at the front of his premises but never did.  

The Coventry Telegraph reported in 2011 that brothers Gary and Wayne Anderson found the head and spear while looking through the scrapyard in the 1980s. 

The pair took it home and then kept it in the family for the next three decades. 

Mr Pedley, who runs the 888 Emporium in Coventry, said he bought the head and spear from one of the brothers after being told about the existence of objects by a friend.

He told MailOnline: ‘A friend of mine said that a friend of his had it for sale. His brother had it for years in his loft.

The face and spear have been bought by Coventry antiques dealer Tony Pedley (above), who has put them on display in his shop

‘We have done a bit of refurb on it because the horns were broke. We have put it on our wall for people to take selfies.

‘We are trying to raise £10,000 for Myton Hospice in Warwick and Coventry. We lost a very dear friend of ours who was only 36.’

He also urged anyone who has the ‘missing’ foot to come forward so the parts can be reunited.

‘I have got the face and tip of his spear but apparently there is a foot missing. There is a foot in Coventry. If we can find the foot that would raise even more money,’ he added. 

Asked why he bought the head and spear, he said: ‘It represents Coventry. I have a shop full of Coventry paraphernalia. 

The Zulu statue was built in the 1960s by a Scunthorpe-based firm and then given to Coventry Zoo. Above: The statue can be seen in the background of his image, shows visitors to the zoo in 1972

A female visitor feeds a hippo called Harry at Coventry Zoo in August 1966. The following month, the same hippo dragged a teenage keeper into the pool in its enclosure

Maureen Waite, a member of the zoo’s staff, shows off a lion cub to local children in 1970

‘I remember going to the Zoo and being a bit scared of Zulu.

‘Once we have raised as much money as we can, I intend to give him to a Coventry museum.’

Coventry Zoo made the news shortly after it opened when a hippo called Harry dragged a 17-year-old keeper into a pool.

The animal, which had previously been put to work in a circus, was said to have been angered after suffering from toothache. 

The teenager was saved after the zoo’s head keeper shouted a command to the partly-trained animal and it opened its jaws. 

There was further trouble for the zoo in 1974 when a wild boar broke out of its enclosure after apparently being teased by youths who had thrown stones at it. 

Armed police had to be called in to hunt for the dangerous animal.  

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