Beartown could be getting a whole new meaning.

Plans for a giant panda sanctuary on the outskirts of Congleton have been unveiled today, April 1.

The ambitious wildlife project is being driven by zoologists Owen Li and Joe King.

They said: "Efforts to establish a giant panda colony in the UK have been bubbling away for some time now and what better location for it than Beartown itself!

"What started as a light-hearted suggestion quickly blossomed into a fully-fledged proposal.

"Congleton has everything we could possibly need - great transport links, the perfect weather and, to our surprise, even a flourishing bamboo forest!"

Congleton's Beartown nickname has a history dating back to medieval times, when sports such as cock-fighting and bear-baiting were popular.

It is said that one year, sometime in the 1600s, the town's dancing bear became ill and died just weeks before the annual Congleton Wakes festivities.

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The town Alderman suggested using the money that had been set aside for a new bible to buy a replacement bear.

With that, the nickname was born and in the 1970s, folk artist John Tams immortalised the tale with his song 'Congleton Bear'.

However, the proposals for a panda sanctuary could completely change this meaning.

Local historian Michael Taker said: "Now when people think of Beartown they will think of world-class conservation work and not an archaic pastime or a potentially fabricated tale.

"The plans have my full support. It's black and white that Congleton is the perfect place to build a panda sanctuary!"

If you've read this far then I'm sure you've worked out that this is an April Fools' Day joke - sorry!