Kilbirnie Library played host to an arts and crafts day for youngsters recently to mark the 65th birthday of Paddington Bear.

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: Paddington at Kilbirnie Library

Among the other events, the wee ones decorated their own Paddington paper plates during what proved to be a fun packed day for everyone.

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: Paddington at Kilbirnie Library

Photographer Charlie Gilmour dropped by to take these pictures of the children hard at work.

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: Paddington at Kilbirnie Library

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: Paddington at Kilbirnie Library

Michael Bond unleashed Paddington - a stowaway from darkest Peru with a fondness for hard stares and marmalade sandwiches - on an unsuspecting world in his book 'A Bear Called Paddington' on October 13, 1958.

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: Paddington at Kilbirnie Library

Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald: Paddington at Kilbirnie Library

Twenty-eight stories, two smash hit Hollywood movies, and countless spin-off products later, he is firmly established as probably the UK's most loved fictional character.

Earlier this year the Royal Mail released a special set of commemorative stamps to mark the occasion - while Paddington's status as a true national treasure was underlined when he took a starring role in the Queen's platinum jubilee celebrations last year, in a special short film which revealed Her Majesty, too, was a fan of the strategically hidden marmalade sandwich.