THERE was more than a hint of monkey business going on in a Cambridgeshire village after a 12-15ft mechanical gorilla suddenly appeared.

The enormous metal figure was discovered lurking in a misty hedgerow by dog walkers on Thursday morning in Witchford off the A142 between Chatteris and Ely. It was discarded on a public byway just off Sutton Road.

The mechanised beast has a number of moving parts but is in a poor state of repair, with many of its components badly rusted.

A dog walker said: “I walk my dog there everyday and it appeared out of nowhere on Thursday morning. I took one look at it and couldn’t quite believe it, it’s enormous.”

Officers at East Cambridgeshire District Council are now appealing for help following the dumping of the metal gorilla.

“The fly tip was reported to the council by a dog walker who spotted the ‘ape’ when out for a stroll with their dog,” said a council spokesman.

He said the enforcement team is working with police to investigate the incident and is appealing for anyone who saw the animal being dumped or knows where it came from to come forward.

Mark Mehaffey, Enforcement Officer at East Cambridgeshire District Council said: “In all our years of investigating cases of fly tipping none of us have ever come across a 12 foot metal gorilla. Although not in the best of conditions, the ‘ape’ clearly came from somewhere so we are keen to hear from anyone who has any information about how to the animal got there or knows who owned it.

“Fly tipping is something we take very seriously and there are fines of up to �50,000 and five years imprisonment for anyone who is caught dumping waste illegally.”

The gorilla is being removed by the authority’s waste contractors for storage until investigations have been completed.

If anyone has any information regarding this fly tipping please call 01353 665555 and ask for Mark Mehaffey - calls will be regarded as strictly confidential.