GROMIT will be living in a popular Thornbury cafe until the end of the month.

GromitMuffin was designed by Singaporean artist Candice Phang (also known as Puffingmuffin) as part of the Gromit Unleashed trail held in Hong Kong.

The six foot tall sculpture was bought by Bristolian Keith Rodgerson and is making its first public appearance in Shelly’s Cafe.

It is the largest of three Gromits he bought in the Hong Kong auction, with Keith being the proud owner of GromitSundae and the affectionately named Jacques, an underwater themed Gromit which he names after French explorer Jacques Cousteau.

Keith said: “When the auction came around I was on holiday in Greece but I managed to find some Wi-Fi which allowed me to bid.

“Initially I only wanted to buy GromitSundae but during the auction I went a bit crazy and ended up with three.

The organisation behind the event had put Keith in touch with a Taunton-based company who would be able to ship the three statues back to the UK.

“I think a lot of people were afraid to bid on the Gromits in the Hong Kong auction because they were worried about shipping them back but I did some research beforehand so I knew that I could get them back here.

“The shipping probably ended up costing me more than the actual statues but it was nice to see them when they arrived in Southampton five weeks later.

Keith is planning to lend his statues to businesses around the area to help raise funds for the Bristol Children’s Hospital.

The event in Hong Kong was inspired by the hugely popular trail held in Bristol which raised £2.3 million for charity in 2013. The auction in Hong Kong raised more than £45,000 – some of went to Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal, which supports Bristol Children’s Hospital.

Designed in pink with blue and white leggings, GromitMuffin was apparently inspired by English muffins.

He will now be living in Shelly’s Cafe until the end of January. For every person who takes a photo with the statue and shares it on Facebook the business will donate 50p to the Bristol Children’s Hospital.

Shelly Shapland owner of the cafe said: “I’d recommend borrowing a Gromit to anyone, it’s like Thornbury now has its own Gromit, and it all raises money for a good charity.

“I was put in contact with Keith by some customers who thought it would be a good to have Gromit in the cafe. I didn’t realise he would be quite so big but he fits in really well in the cafe.”

GromitMuffin will be available to pose with for pictures for a small charge which includes a free tea or coffee (CHECK) with 50p going to the charity’s fundraising efforts (CHECK)