Clifton, Bristol gorillas prove most popular at auction

Clifton, Bristol hosted the auction of Bristol Zoo's Wow! Gorillas sculptures which raised £427,300 for charity.

It was a full house at the Victoria Rooms as more than 500 people filled the auditorium to place their bids and watch the drama unfold.

Gorisambard (above), who was positioned on the Leigh Woods side of the Clifton Suspension Bridge over the summer, proved to be the most popular gorilla, fetching £23,000.

Still Life: Alfred and Elvis also proved popular with bidders, fetching £12,000 and £10,200 respectively.

Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies successfully bid £7,500 for Distinctly Different.

Clifton's gorillas were some of the most popular of the night:

Gorisambard, Clifton Suspension Bridge – £23,000

Noah, Bristol Zoo - £9,500

Winston, Avon Gorge Hotel - £6,000

Kingdom, The Mall Gardens - £9,000

Lipstick on the Gorilla, The Promenade -  £8,000

Percival, Clifton College - £6,000

Midnight Shok, Clifton Down shopping centre - £8,500

Custard, BBC Bristol, Whiteladies Road - £5,250

Banana Shirt, Victoria Rooms - £6,000

Pattern Gorilla, Bristol Museum & Art Gallery - £6,500

Director of Bristol Zoo, Dr Bryan Carroll, said: "We never could have predicted how successful Wow! Gorillas has been and the total raised at the auction has further demonstrated that; we are absolutely delighted and thankful for everyone's generosity.

"Wow! Gorillas has been a fantastic way to celebrate Bristol Zoo's 175th birthday this year as well as being a great way to raise funds for two very important causes - our conservation projects for critically endangered gorillas here and in Cameroon, as well as Wallace & Gromit's Grand Appeal which is raising funds for the cardiology unit at Bristol Children's Hospital."