MODELS of bears being tortured go on sale at one of the region's historic tourist attractions this weekend.

Piranha Studios, in Newcastle, has teamed up with York Dungeons to launch Dungeon Bad Taste Bears.

The six will include Stretch, a teddy bear hung upside down on a rack with its red intestines spilling out, plus a bear in a guillotine and another wielding a blood-drenched axe.

The gruesome collectables are part of Piranha's successful Bad Taste Bears series of figurines. The merchandise is designed in Newcastle and manufactured in China.

Since 1999, the company has launched one bear a month on the market. Sales are now worth £4m a year and its collectors club boasts 20,000 members worldwide.