Paul Ballington: TV's 'Singing Plumber' from South Yorkshire pens children's book

A 'Singing Plumber' whose TV appearances have earned him tens of thousands of fans online has swapped the microphone for a pen.

Paul Ballington's comedy songs have featured on Sky Sports, BBC Look North, and helped him raise money for Sheffield Children's Hospital and Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, among other good causes.

Now the plumber from Dinnington, Rotherham, who has 42,700 followers on Facebook, has written his first children's book, called Welcome To Silly Billy Land.

His three-year-old son is a fan, with Paul saying: "He laughed, loved the story, loved the pictures! I lost him for a minute halfway through when he started playing with my ears, but he does that with The Gruffalo so I’m not too concerned."

Paul has also read the book, which he hopes will be the first of a series of stories set in Silly Billy Land, to youngsters at Dinnington Pre-School He joked: "The sooner it sells out, the sooner I can write rude songs again."

Welcome To Silly Billy Land is published by Steel City Press and available through Amazon and the Steel City Press website.