IT is an exciting time for Star Wars fans – the new film is due to be released next month and this year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the first blockbuster.

One fan from Hereford has marked the occasion by combining his passion and skills to create his very own version of one the series' famous characters, out of items he found lying around the house.

Stewart Lilley, 43, admits he has been a 'huge Star Wars fan' since he was a little boy and his sons, Reuben, six, and Joseph, four, have followed in his footsteps.

Mr Lilley, who previously worked as an artist at the Hereford Times before turning his hand to carpentry, said: "I have always drawn pictures of Star Wars and always wanted to be a Star Wars artist and did actually send work into Lucasfilm [the production company] and have had a few things published including a few illustrations which went into Star Wars magazines in the UK and an American magazine.

"But because it's the 40th anniversary I thought I would go one step further and make my own R2-D2.

"When I first said about it to my wife, Julie, she said 'where are you going to put it? and how will you make it?' It was a bit of a head-scratch on how I would make it initially."

Mr Lilley combined his skills as an artist and a carpenter and set about creating the model, taking down some measurements from online sources to point him in the right direction.

He said: "Mine is just made out of bits and pieces I have found around the house, bits of card I've used for drawings and bits of wood I've found around.

"If I saw something and thought 'that would go well' then I would use that. It's not 100 per cent accurate but it's pretty close.

"I printed off a few images off the internet and looked up to see the exact dimension of the head and then I just did it all by eye."

It took around seven months to complete and Mr Lilley is considering making further improvements to the model, including the addition of robotic features with a remote control.

He added: "The kids love it. I have threatened to sell it a few times and they want to keep it.

"I think if did get rid of it I would be quite sad to see it go – it's become part of the daily routine."