YATE company A C Services (Southern) Ltd is hoping Gromit spotters and social networkers will help them raise plenty of cash for charity.

The oven servicing company, on Dean Road, has sponsored Dog Rose, one of 80 five feet fibreglass Gromit statues on display around greater Bristol this summer. The Gromit Unleashed trail is raising funds for the Wallace and Gromit Grand Appeal which supports Bristol Children’s Hospital.

So far, hundreds of people have taken to the streets to find each differently-decorated statue and as well as joining the trail, A C Services is using Facebook to raise more funds.

Helen Hagger, from the firm, said everyone was ‘very proud’ to be sponsoring a Gromit. “We are asking people to go to the A C Services Southern Facebook page and ‘like’ us,” she said. “We will donate 50p for each like up to a maximum of £1,000.

“At the beginning of July we received the exciting news that our Gromit has been chosen as one of the mini ceramic figurines which are being sold as official Gromit Unleased merchandise. We are giving away one of the Dog Rose Gromit figurines so why not enter the draw at the same time.”

The statue, designed by artist Ros Franklin, is located outside Tyndale Baptist Church on Whiteladies Road, Bristol until September.