Pet lion in Sheffield, 60s/70s?

At risk of getting the Micky took here I know...

Been listening to the radio today about the elephant that helped out in the scrap yard during the war... And that there were tigers about Sheffield around that time too..

Anyway some years ago my uncle told me that there was a scrap yard in Sheffield that had a lion. Ok stop laughing.

He had no reason to lie to me about it.. I'm in my 30s so not like it's some story he told me to entertain me!

Has anyone else heard of this? He's in his 60s I think so might be one for the old timers on here?

I hope it's got some truth to it otherwise I'm guna look a right berk

There was a scrapyard at Parkwood Springs seem to remember in the early seventies there was a lion, think it belong to Ron Hull.

I remember my dad telling me that during the 60's a scrappers out Holmfirth way had a Lion.

I had faith it was true. It's likely to the the Barnsley one!

So the story goes that the lion used to sleep in an old jag.

Recon that's true as well?

didn't a lion get lose from a circus once and was shot in warren woods chapeltown?

There was a scrapyard at Parkwood Springs seem to remember in the early seventies there was a lion, think it belong to Ron Hull.

Your thinking of Emu:hihi:

defo true about tony smiths lion.saw it in the tankard in ecclesfield when trevor greaves was landlord,it was only a cub then.saw it some months later in back of his car and boy had it grown,if was that big in the tankard i would have been in white bear.

Seems Sheffield had more lions than Africa

There might have been more than one Lion in the South Yorkshire area. But I spoke to the old man who used to have it. He's 89 in a few months, he's called Dennis Higgs (Ex Bus Scrapyard Owner) and he lives in Barnsley. He bought it from a guy in Rochdale for £240 through the Exchange & Mart, the guy used to show it off, taking it into Pubs etc. but it was getting a bit too strong and he was becoming scared of it, so Dennis took it on. It was called Ben and lived till the age of 9, when it died after getting fur balls in it's stomach. He was the only one who could deal with it / control it, no one else would go near, not even the rest of his family. It was kept on a chain in his yard, but the police forced him to cage it. It mauled a couple of people in it's time, a woman who brought rags to the scrapyard and also had the VAT man pinned up the side of one of his buildings. It once had a go at Dennis so he pulled it's claws out. He also used to drive it around in his car, but the attention nearly caused a few crashes so he decided against it. He also had one or two confrontations with the police, and whenever they came he's get in the cage with Ben and threaten for them both to walk out to be arrested, the police usually went away.

---------- Post added 10-06-2018 at 22:07 ----------

It wasn't Shippey, he rented space in Dennis Higgs yard, the owenr of the Lion was Dennis Higgs.

---------- Post added 10-06-2018 at 22:08 ----------

The was a Lion at a scrapyard in Barnsley, the Lion was called Ben and it was owned by Dennis Higgs

---------- Post added 10-06-2018 at 22:08 ----------

Did you find anything out?