Uriah Heep - Uriah Heep Stars Terrified By Hungry Bears

The band was named godfathers of bears Elizabeth and Jack back in June (12) by the city mayor - and Box and his bandmates were driven to the zoo to meet the animals up close.

The guitarist thought they'd be looking at the beasts from afar and admits he was shocked when he was invited to feed them.

He tells WENN, "We were playing a concert in the city as part of a European tour and we were honoured when they asked us to do this. We were driven to the zoo to meet the bears before we had our soundcheck.

"They were rather bigger than we expected and we were given these large packets of biscuits to feed them. They devoured them in seconds. It was really quite scary being that close to them, but the biscuits did their job, and took their minds and appetite off of us."

And now Box can't wait to return to the zoo so he can meet his hairy 'godchildren' again: "A trip to Plzen Zoo to check on the bears, when we play other concerts in Plzen or the surrounding areas, will now be on the cards from here on in."