Wombles

Underground, overground or just wombling free, the Wombles became an international sensation after the BBC brought them to life in the mid 1970s. The furry recyclers were originally created by author Elizabeth Beresford in the late 1960s and went on to inspire a wildly successful range of merchandise and novelty songs and even a feature length movie.

These sweet little home-made Fimo figurines, including Great Uncle Bulgaria, Tobermory and Madame Cholet, were given to New Plymouth girl Leanne Simmons by her grandmother Nelly Kirk in the 1970s, when the Womble craze was in full flight. Leanne remembers they were one of her prized possessions and she frequently used to recreate Wimbledon Common on her bedroom floor.