A TEACHER from Prestwich with a passion for drawing has followed his dreams and published his first book.

David Adamson has released his book 'The Planet of the Grapes: Born to be wine' - inspired by the comics he grew up with in the 1970s.

Featuring comic strips which he has drawn himself, the book tells the quirky story of "Grape Britain", including some of the country's most famous faces throughout the ages, which have been adapted to fit his fruit-based wordplay, such as Wineston Churchill, Charles Darwine, and Queen Vintoria.

Mr Adamson, who teaches French, German and Spanish at a high school in Tameside, said he was inspired to create the book by his love of comics.

He said: "I have always loved drawing. Originally I wanted to do it so I could have something to pass onto my kids, but it has just grown and grown.

"I am not musical, I can't build anything and I am not sporty, but people look at my drawings and say they are amazing, but I suppose their starting point is that they can't draw stick men very well.

"To me, drawing is just normal, because I have done it for so long. People asked if I had any of them published, and they said I should do a book, so I did."

Mr Adamson, aged 49, has already written a follow-up book in the series, and is currently putting the finishing touches to the third, which will bring the story to its conclusion.

The plot follows disturbing events in Grape Britain, where the population is mysteriously disappearing, and attempts by the "Wine" Minister, Wineston Churchill to get to the bottom of it.

He said the book will appeal to all ages, because of the wide variety of characters throughout history he refers to.

Mr Adamson said: "I don't think it is limited to children or a certain age group, because it has characters based on real people from all areas of life.

"I was speaking to an older gentleman at a carol service and showed him the book, and he recognised the former Prime Minister Harold Wilson."

He said that he hopes the comic strip will inspire a love of comics in his three sons.

Mr Adamson added: "I remember in the 1970s I was always buying comics with my pocket money,. It was a fantastic time for comics, but by the 1980s a lot of those comics did not exist any more, so I decided to create my own which I could share with my children."

The 86-page book is available to buy on Amazon for £9.49 by visiting tinyurl.com/prestwichbook