Mr Men and Little Misses become new stamp set

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

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

Since 1971, 50 Mr Men and 36 Little Miss books have been published. Hargreaves’s son Adam, who took over after his father died in 1988, said: “I think my father would have been chuffed.

“It’s a real accolade for the Mr Men and Little Miss characters to be on a Royal Mail stamp.”

Philip Parker, of Royal Mail, said: “The Mr Men and Little Miss characters are a worldwide phenomenon.

“People identify with the different character traits, and we hope these stamps will brighten up sending and receiving mail.”