COLCHESTER Zoo has released additional tickets for passholders after experiencing 'unbelievable demand'.

The zoo reopened for the first time in three months this morning.

Tickets, which could initially be booked up to seven days in advance, have been extremely popular.

On Saturday when they were first released, almost 8,000 people were waiting in an online queue.

And due to this huge demand zoo bosses have announced additional tickets have been made available for passholders.

The zoo is also releasing all tickets for the next months on Wednesday morning.

A spokesman said: "Following the unbelievable demand for tickets to visit us over the next 7 days, we have now released some additional passholder slots for visits between the April 13 and 19.

"On Wednesday April 14 at 9am we will be releasing tickets for all visit dates between April 20 and May 16.

"We expect extremely high traffic to our website once again, please be patience and be kind when waiting to book.

"Thank you all so much for your amazing support, we are pleased so many of you wish to visit and hope this additional release will allow more of you to visit us over the coming weeks."

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To find out more about the zoo or book tickets, visit www.colchester-zoo.com/plan-your-visit/tickets.