THE daughter of the Wombles author has donated her mum’s Womble memorabilia and toys to charity... “recycling” them just like the famous characters.

Kate Robertson was a little girl when she mispronounced “Wimbledon” as “Wombledon” on a walk with her mother Elisabeth on the famous common.

Her mum was immediately inspired and created The Wombles... furry creatures who help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in creative ways.

They appeared in books and a highly-successful TV show in the UK in the 1970s and even enjoyed a chart-topping hit.

Elisabeth passed away in 2010 at the age of 84 and her daughter was left with a large collection of Womble toys, many handmade and sent to her mum by fans.

But in a Womble-like move Kate has now “recycled” them, donating the toys to the Alderney branch of Cancer Research.

They have now been put on display at Alderney Museum on the Channel Island where Elisabeth lived.

Retired Kate, from Horsham, said: “I mispronounced Wimbledon Common as Wombledon Common and that piqued something in her mind.

“It feels wonderful because I love the Wombles and so does every one else I think.

‘’It was a wonderful invention and mum was so ahead of herself in terms of recycling.

‘’She had lots of Wombles. There were official Wombles, stuffed toys, some were ones that were made by fans and sent to her.

“Some were the originals from the Seventies, she had them in her office all lined up, there were about 20 of them in total. I couldn’t have told you what they were worth.

“I donated them because they were mum’s and part of the family.’’ The Wombles are furry creatures that were created by Elisabeth and first came about in a series of children’s novels from 1968.

They lived in burrows and were unconventionally ecological, protecting the environment by recycling rubbish in creative ways.

Kate continued: “Recycling is common now but for her the inspiration was that she was a child of the Second World War.

“Anyone who had anything had the mindset of waste not want not.

“String was very hard to get hold of, people who keep loose bits and tie it up into big balls - I think that mindset stuck with her.”

Elisabeth wrote six books that went on to become the basis for the hugely popular television show. When Womblemania took hold, she moved to the Channel Island of Alderney, between Guernsey and France, with her husband, broadcaster Max Robertson, and children, Kate and Marcus. Kate said her mother, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 84, loved Alderney and was adored by her fans, who would create their own Wombles and post them over to her.

Kate said:”Alderney was where she lived from 1979 and she loved being there so much. It’s a fantastic place.

“She loved it very much so the Wombles have stayed there.

“As long as they’re not recycled into the bin I’m happy, they’re living on and will be on display and give other people pleasure and that’s a very good way of recycling them.”

Now, Elisabet’s collection of Wombles are on display for the first time at Alderney Museum.

Ms Beresford lived in Alderney for more than 30 years and became a pillar of the local community. She even created a Womble character named after the island.

Kate donated the toys to the Alderney branch of Cancer Research, and Jan Walker from the charity decided they should be put on display.

Jan said: “After Liza Beresford died in 2010, Kate was sorting though her house and she called us to come and collect some jumble for Cancer Research.

“So we packed the cars with a lot of jumble and as we were leaving Kate came up to us with two black rubbish bags and told us not to take them to the jumble sale but sell them for Cancer Research.

“When we got home we looked inside and there were the Wombles.”

They auctioned off Orinoco to an island family but the rest ended up at Jan’s house in 2014.

She continued: “They’ve been in my house ever since - some around the house, some packed away and my favourite, Uncle Bulgaria, sat on my dressing table.

“We realised we had to do something with them so we contacted the museum to see if they wanted them so everybody could enjoy the Wombles and learn about Liza and her life in Alderney.”

Karen Hill, Alderney Museum administrator, said: “It’s a fantastic addition to the museum.

“I remember watching the Wombles as a child and they were fantastic creatures. The fact they were all about recycling and reusing is very “Alderney” and very topical right now.

“We’ve got schoolchildren coming in later this month and it will be great to introduce the Wombles to a new generation.”