‘The Wombles’ creator Elisabeth Beresford dies aged 84

LONDON - Elisabeth Beresford, who created the popular children’s characters, ‘The Wombles’, has died. She was 84.

Her family said on Saturday that she died at a hospital in Alderney in the Channel Islands, reports the Daily Express.

Beresford had revealed last month that she was inspired to create the children’s characters following a comment made by her daughter during a Boxing Day walk on Wimbledon Common.

“She said to me, ‘Isn’t it great on Wombledon Common?’ and I said, ‘That’s where the Wombles live’,” she told Woman’s Hour.

Beresford, who also worked as a radio reporter, had said that many of the characters in the stories stemmed from her family.

“Great Uncle Bulgaria was my father-in-law, Madame Cholet was from my daughter Kate and Orinoco I just picked off a map,” she had said.

“The Queen’s a mad Womble fan,” said Beresford, whose 20 Womble books earned her an MBE in 1998. (ANI)