Will you meet Mr Tumnus as you travel in the land of Sandy?

Ron Coxall, 79, created the 4ft figure for his brother and sister-in-law, Terry and Julie, as he went to stay with the couple when lockdown began and needed a project to keep him busy.

‘Mr Tumnus’ can be seen leaning on a lamppost, and is made from a cylinder of chicken wire, papier mache and fibreglass, along with a coat of paint.

For 10 years, the couple had been asking Ron, who lives in Stowmarket, to make them the character, and this year he finally gave in.

Ron, a retired country dance teacher, said: “It seemed like a challenge too far. He’s quite large and he’s got funny legs, but it was the lockdown that did it.

“At school I wasn’t allowed to do art. I had to do more academic things, so I wanted an outlet.”

For many years, Ron has been making figures to display each Christmas, which are then burned on Boxing Day.

It has become a family tradition, and he’s created all kinds of creatures from a mermaid and a teddy bear to a hippopotamus ballerina.

Previously, Ron has also made the Old People and a gardener for Terry and Julie, as well as a man called The Thinker, who sat on an old toilet.

Terry added: “When he disappeared, the postman moaned that he could now no longer use the description of ‘that house with the man on the loo in the front garden!’”