A COUNTY Durham artist is celebrating being the author and illustrator of the centenary edition of The Rupert Bear annual.

Stuart Trotter, from Ferryhill, took over as the official illustrator of The Rupert Annual in 2008.

And Stuart is especially proud to have been in charge for Rupert’s 100th anniversary, designing the cover for the centenary annual and writing a new story.

He said: “Rupert’s so iconic that you do feel a pressure to get it right – especially for his 100th birthday – because he means so much to so many people.”

Stuart remembers always receiving a Rupert annual for Christmas when he was growing up on a terraced street in the former mining town of Ferryhill. As a four-year-old, he tackled the colouring competition at the back of the book, but he didn’t send it off because he couldn’t bear to cut out the page and spoil the book.

“Rupert brought colour into my life every Christmas – the fields around Ferryhill became my Nutwood,” said Stuart, whose career has also included working on Winnie The Pooh, Thomas The Tank Engine, Wallace and Gromit, and The Animals of Farthing Wood.