The lion cub who caused a roar of opinion in Sunderland - and he's still doing it 50 years later

Jason was his name and he first hit the Sunderland Echo headlines in 1975 when he got out of his cage at Seaburn Zoo.

Thousands of you took a look

He went on a walkabout and was fed a beef bone while police and fire brigade officers stood by and lion experts tried to catch him in February 1975.

Richard Howard and his son, John, from Lambton Lion Park, stood by to tranquillise the cub. Eventually, he lay down and went to sleep before being carried back to his cage.

We shared the photo of Jason enjoying his freedom once more earlier this month and the response from Wearside Echoes followers was phenomenal. The picture reached thousands of people on our retro Facebook community.

‘I worked at the zoo in 73 and remember Jason very well’

Nearly 450 of you reacted to the photo and more than 140 people left comments.

Among them was Stephen Clark who said: “I worked at the zoo in ‘73 and remember Jason very well, also the penguins the dolphins Diddy and Herby. I loved it there.’

Carol Dixon was there on the day it happened. She remembered: “I was there with my daughter in her pushchair, and noticed the cage was partly open. I have never ran so fast to get out of there. Then told shortly after that it had escaped.”

‘Must have wanted to join up with mates at Lambton Lion Park’

Andrea Huntley-Crow said: “I seem to remember my nana taking me to see a small 'zoo' and aquarium there when I was little.”

Thanks also to Christine Lowrie who said she remembered going to the zoo and ‘visiting with children’.

Ken Phillips said: “Must have wanted to join up with mates at Lambton Lion Park, quite a hike. I bet a few animals escaped from there too. Remember baboons ripping car windscreen wipers off .”

Tell us which attractions you remember visiting in Sunderland 50 years ago by emailing [email protected]