AN animatronic dragon will roam around the Market Place Shopping Centre this Saturday.

Customers can track down the friendly fire-breather and then pose for selfies with it.

The event has been set up to give parents a helping hand during the school break, Market Place bosses say.

Nikki Wilson-Cook, centre manager, said: “When you’ve got the Easter holidays, kids need something to do, so we always like to give people something a bit different that’s family-oriented.

“We’ve had dinosaurs, we’ve had other animatronics, we’ve had robots. We just thought a dragon would be a bit different.”

The three-metre-long creature produces real smoke and will be set loose in the Market Place between 11am and 3pm.

There will also be free face-painting across the weekend.

Children can also enjoy the opportunity to be transformed into a character of their choice, with free face painting all weekend.

Mrs Wilson-Cook added: “Have you ever seen a dragon? Why wouldn’t you want to?

“Come and have a look and tell us what you think!”