I have no doubt that Jensen, my eight year-old nephew, is far more of a dinosaur expert than me, yet I’m fairly sure that this is a life-size tyrannosaurus rex (albeit one with a slightly rusty hip). I spotted it earlier today at Teessaurus Park, on the bank of the Tess in Middlesbrough.

If you were ever a fan of Sim City 2000, you’ll remember that putting parks in industrial areas tended to improve the perceived land quality, and help your city to thrive. Teessaurus Park seems to have been based on a similar premise, based as it is very close to Middlesbrough’s industrial heart.

When it opened in 1979, there was only one dinosaur. Seven more have been added since then, mainly in the late 1980s, built by young people on Norman Tebbit’s Youth Training Scheme. Yet no number of dinosaurs can distract visitors for long from the huge A V Dawson freight terminal right next door, or the highly industrial view across the Tees: