Tian Tian and Yang Guang have met the public for the first time today, almost two weeks after their arrival.

Doors opened at 9 o'clock this morning allowing visitors to see the first pandas to live in Britain for 17 years.

The zoo said that 600 people had pre-booked to visit the endangered bears, an increase of 80 percent on the usual number of visitors on a pre-Christmas winter weekend.

Zoo chief executive Hugh Roberts said:

“This is the moment we have been waiting for since we first discussed bringing the giant pandas to Edinburgh almost five years ago."