THIS week a bid to bring John Daniel, the Uley gorilla, back to Gloucestershire was started by Stroud District Council leader, Steve Lydon.

After Uley Society Archivist Margaret Groom unearthed a collection of photo of a gorilla with Uley school children and villagers, the story of John Daniel’s adoption shot to the headlines.

He would be carted around by kids in a wheelbarrow, went to classes, ate roses from gardens, enjoyed cups of tea and drank cider with the locals.

But now Cllr Steve Lydon (Lab, The Stanleys) is leading the charge to bring John back to Uley.

He said: “I contacted the American Museum of Natural History in New York and they confirmed that they had him on display.

“I spent a lot of time talking about austerity and cuts so it’s nice to have a bit of fun.

“I went to Uley Parish Council and they said they’d love to have him in the community shop.

“It’s a bit of a laugh, but it would be great if we could at least borrow him or get an up to date picture.

“Anything is possible, and after all it could be a good tourist attraction possibly at the Museum in the Park.

“I’m not sure what the DHL costs would be to ship him over but it would be great if we could bring him back home.”

But what do you think? Should John Daniel be brought home by SDC?