Mr Men make it on to stamp collection

Stamp collectors of a certain age will be very happy, or even grumpy, after news that the Royal Mail is issuing a special set to celebrate the Mr Men and Little Miss set of books.

Mr Bump, Mr Tickle, Little Miss Sunshine, and of course Mr Happy and Mr Grumpy, feature on the 10 stamps – which mark the 45th anniversary of the books by Roger Hargreaves.

He created the first book after his son Adam asked him what a tickle looked like, inspiring a copywriter to visualise a small orange man with long arms. Since 1971, 50 Mr Men and 36 Little Miss books have been published, with Adam taking over from his father following his death in 1988.