A ZOO is celebrating after raising more than £40,000 through a crowd-funder towards their Silk Road project.

The Welsh Mountain Zoo, in Colwyn Bay, carried out an ambitious campaign for the unique project, which will see a complete redesign of the attraction's snow leopard enclosure.

As well as securing £40,445, support and endorsements have been attracted from across the UK from celebrities, including Dame Judi Dench and John Cleese.

A pledge of an additional £135,000 was made by a 'friend' of the zoo and £25,500 was raised earlier raised earlier, bringing the total raised for the project so far to £200,945.

Nick Jackson, director at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, said: "The crowdfunding campaign has been a really exciting project for us and a completely new way of generating funds.

"In making it come about, each and everyone of our supporters has become part of that history.”

It is hoped work on The Silk Road can begin later in the Autumn and conclude just ahead of next Spring.

The zoo is to continue with their fundraising efforts in order to meet the overall project costs of £1million.

Forging links with China and the Himalayan mountains, The Silk Road will give a nod to Chinese culture, language, environment and species that originate from there.

The snow leopard enclosure will offer visitors a nose-to-nose visual experience through glass, whilst an elevated walkway will journey around the site, giving panoramic views across the zoo and to the Carneddau Mountains.