Folly Farm has enjoyed its busiest-ever summer this year, as record numbers of visitors flocked to the park to come to face-to-face with its new pride of lions.

The adventure park and zoo expects to have welcomed 450,000 visitors by the end of the year, with numbers 12 per cent up already on last year’s figures.

This year, Folly Farm ploughed profits back into a £500,000 Pride of Pembrokeshire attraction which houses six African lions. The two-acre lion enclosure followed hot on the heels of the opening of Penguin Coast in summer 2013.

Over the last 10 years, Folly Farm has invested £10 million into the attraction, 4% of which has been grant funded, creating 45 full-time equivalent jobs.

Chris Ebsworth, managing director, said: “By the end of this year, we will have added 60,000 visitors over the last two years, which in our 26th year of operation is extremely impressive. We’re pleased to see so many people enjoy what we have to offer to families and tourists to the area.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the interest in our Pride of Pembrokeshire lions and they have undoubtedly become a huge draw. When we first opened the attraction, the park almost reached its maximum capacity of 70,000.

“As well as welcoming more people to Folly Farm, we have also seen a five per cent rise in spend in our dining areas and gift shop. Our customers continue to give us some valuable feedback which helps us to improve what we do and look forward to our next stage in our expansion.”

For more information, visit www.folly-farm.co.uk, follow them on twitter @follyfarmwales or join their Facebook page at Folly Farm Wales.