A lion will greet customers at Palmer Gardens Garden Centre over the next few weeks.

The lion, called Parsley, is one of 100 life-size decorated Lions of Bath sculptures made for a public art event around the city last summer.

After the exhibition the lions were auctioned to raise funds for local charities.

Parsley will take pride of place guarding the front entrance of the Shaw Trust-owned centre, where visitors will have the chance to enter a competition to win a fresh food hamper provided by local produce wholesaler Lovejoys, the current ‘keepers’ of Parsley.

He will be surrounded by a display of plants from around the world and a world map. To enter the competition, visitors must try to guess where he was born.

Manager Mark Bradbury said: “Parsley is an unusual colour – a mixture of different shades of green. He is a very friendly lion and enjoys being patted and stroked by all who come to visit him.”

The competition is open to all visitors and closes on March 30.