Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury will launch a new children's title in Ledbury on Saturday, November 20, Big George and the Winter King.

The book's author, Eric Pringle, lives at Knapp Ridge and this will be the third time that he has chosen his home town of Ledbury for a premiere signing.

The launches of Big George and Big George and the Seventh Knight have also been held at Ledbury Books and Maps, in High Street.

Mr Pringle, 69, a former Dr Who scriptwriter, will be signing his latest tale in the series between 11am and 1pm.

Young and old alike will be able to catch up with an original concept that the Indepen-dent on Sunday called "the funniest thing to happen to the Middle Ages since Monty Python".

Big George is a 40ft space alien who crashed to earth in 1103 and completely lost his memory, though he sometimes has fleeting recollections of his home planet in the constellation of Ursa Middling.

Mr Pringle said: "Space is always seen from our point of view, so I thought, what would happen if another planet sent an explorer here?"

In the latest book, Big George has been asleep under a big earth mound for many years, until he is woken by the cold in 1399, for what Mr Pringle called an alternative Christmas story.

Mr Pringle, who is also the author of Ledbury's mystery play, set to be performed next spring, said: "If Bloomsbury want another Big George after this, I'll do another.

"Big George lives more or less forever, so we can come right up to the present day."