A fleet of buses has been adorned with famous cartoon characters in honour of their Cleckheaton-born creator.

Passengers on Arriva’s 14 new double-deck buses will be greeted by one of the Mr Men or Little Miss characters to brighten up their journey.

The £2.3 million investment is to commemorate cartoonist Roger Hargreaves and the first bus, feat-uring Little Miss Sunshine, was unveiled at the National Media Museum yesterday. Twenty children at Moorend Primary and Heaton Avenue Primary Schools, who were finalists in a drawing competition, were invited and the winners cut a ribbon to officially set the bus on its way.

Nigel Featham, managing director for Arriva Yorkshire, said: “It’s great to be able to commemorate a creation that forms such an important part of our culture and characters that have been cherished by generations.”

The buses will be used on the 268 service, which serves Bradford, Cleckheaton, Dewsbury and Heckmondwike.