The small yellow bear certainly has a place in the heart of Blackpool's residents and visitors.

And they are right behind an audacious bid to return the TV star to his spiritual home.

The original Sooty - who was bought from a shop on North Pier in 1948 by entertainer Harry Corbett - is going under the hammer later this month.

Blackpool Council said they would bid for the bear - whose estimated value is £300 - if Gazette readers backed the idea.

And you have voted in your hundreds with 73 per cent of our online vote calling for the council to make a bid.

Council leader Peter Callow said he was prepared to stand by his word and bring Sooty back home.

He added: "I think our motto should be the same as Sooty's. If the people want him back it's time to izzy, wizzy, let's get busy on bringing Sooty back to where he rightly belongs!"

It is a stance backed by visitors The Gazette spoke to on North Pier, where there is a plaque to commemorate the TV legend's rise from humble beginnings.

Brian Goatley, 59, who was with his family from Berkshire, said: "Sooty's a British icon. He started in Blackpool then he should spend the rest of his life here.

"I don't think £300 is too much to ask when you consider what some councils fritter away on waste these days."

His wife, Alison, 57, agreed, saying: "Everyone I knew grew up watching Sooty and his friends. He has a home in Blackpool."

Anne Murdin, 67, from Northampton, said: "I really hope he comes back here. The council should dig deep to get him."

George Tustin, 62, Northampton, added: "Sooty is a great British institution and should definitely come back to Blackpool."

And Karen Broaders, 37, from Glossop, said: "Councils always seem to spend money on rubbish. This will be something for the people of Blackpool to enjoy.

"I love Sooty and always will do. He's a icon to millions of children."