Last year hundreds of model pigs got the city talking.

But now 12 months after they left the streets of Bath a new project is to take the city by storm.

In May next year, around 100 individually decorated life-size lion sculptures will be positioned in the streets hoping to stimulate a similar response as the popular porkers.

Yesterday a reception in the Octagon in Milsom Street revealed the first 10 models which will take pride of place outside shops and businesses in Bath.

Last year's King Bladud's Pigs in Bath was organised to commemorate the man who, according to legend, was the first to discover the healing powers of the city's natural hot springs.

The pigs were each sponsored by a business or community group and were later sold at auction raising tens of thousands of pounds for Two Tunnels Project, which will create a new cycleway and footpath through old rail tunnels to the south of the city.

Next year's project Pride in Our City , which will run until September, will benefit Off The Record, which supports young carers aged five to 18 in Bath, the Quartet Foundation which funds community projects across the west and the Mayor's Relief Fund which gives emergency funding for people in need in the city.

It will be run by a steering group involving people who also helped orchestrate the pigs project including PR consultant Sue Yates-Price.

Mrs Yates-Price said: "All of the businesses who were involved last year loved it and said when were we going to do something like this again.

"We thought it would be very hard to get sponsorship in the middle of a recession but in fact everyone has been very bullish about it."

The models, which will be 40 per cent bigger than the pig sculptures, have been designed by sculptor Alan Dun who created last year's swines.

He decided on the big cat as he said they were trying to find a character which would have just as much meaning to the city.

He said: "The idea was to find a shape which people can enjoy on its own without any artistic endorsement and also as a blank canvas they can make their own.

"There was quite a lot of discussion about what animal we should choose and we went through a whole menagerie.

"The lions have historical relevance to the city and are usually associated with civic pride."

There are more than 500 images of lions of various styles and sizes around the city each with individual stories which reflect the royal heritage of Bath.

Lions are featured on the city's coat of arms which dates back to the crowning of King Edgar, the first king of England, in Bath in 973 AD.

They also guard the entrance to Royal Victoria Park which was the first park in the world to bear the name of Queen Victoria after she opened it in 1830 at the age of 11.

Each model, made of fibreglass, will be decorated by an artist.

Artist Al Greenall of Larkhall, who decorated Panoramic Pig in Margaret's Buildings last year, is already working on a model for next year.

He said: "For me personally this is completely down to giving the city's artists the chance to develop their own skills and that is something to be promoted."

Around 35 businesses in Bath and Bradford on Avon have already expressed an interest in sponsoring a lion.

For more information visit the website www.lionsofbath.com.