WEYMOUTH'S great dinosaur mystery has been solved.

There was bewilderment when the green creature appeared on signs across the town earlier this month.

It now turns out that the pictures were distributed to promote a forthcoming charity event in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

The mystery was the brainchild of event organisers Andy Woodcock and Kevin Roberts, workers at BAE Systems in Weymouth.

Mr Roberts said: "It was Andy's idea. We put out flyers at first but we got very little feedback.

"So we decided to take a new approach and get people thinking first - which was what the dinosaurs were about.

"Hopefully, now we've linked the event to the signs it will stick in people's minds more. It seems to have been quite successful so far."

The dinosaur symbols were designed to promote the Jurassic Coast Challenge, a 46km trek around the area on September 30.

Competitors will kayak 3km along the coast in Portland Harbour before hiking on foot for 13km, taking in sights along the way.

They will then hop on their bikes for the final leg of the challenge, a 30km ride around Dorset's scenic hills.

Mr Roberts, a systems engineer at BAE Systems, said the firm has picked Macmillan Cancer Support as its partner charity this year.

He said: "We were looking for ideas for fundraising events to help them out and this is what we came up with.

"We're hoping to attract about 60 people, that's what we've planned for, but we'll do our best to cater for more if necessary. It's open to everyone. If you want to do it as a timed event that's fine, but if you just want to come and have some fun that's great too.

"It's aimed at being a personal challenge for people. That's what Macmillan does, helps people through huge personal challenges."

The entry fee is £20, which covers costs and includes an event T-shirt. The closing date is August 31. For details, email jurassiccoastchallenge@baesystems.com