Who knows whether Rob’s series of colourful children’s books will make him millions.

What he does know, is that they’ve probably saved his life.

Born and raised in Colchester, but now living in Havering, for the last 16 years Rob has worked for Essex Police.

Having studied graphic design at the Colchester School of Art, he had always dabbled with art and design outside of his day job as a police sergeant but decided to do something more serious last year.

He says: “It was my daughter Bella that kicked it all off when she mispronounced a series on Netflix and said ‘The Punish Bear’ instead of ‘The Punisher’. Suddenly the idea of a teddy bear with a skull on its chest popped into my head and from their I just started developing a group of characters.”

The Uncuddibles are a group of old stuffed toys in an abandoned toy factory that were damaged and rotting away, until an unexpected visitor gives them special gifts to help others.

Rob had finished writing books one and two at the end of last year and was just about to launch them when tragedy struck.

“I really wanted some promotional stuff to go with the books.” he says “and as my mother Ren used to make toys for a living, I asked her to make me seven bears for the launch.”

Unfortunately his mother was diagnosed with cancer and with a number of his team at work struggling with family matters themselves, the stress took its toll on Rob and he himself was rushed into hospital.

He says: “I was on my way to see mum when I collapsed and was rushed into hospital myself.

“Unfortunately she passed away while I was there, so I never managed to say good bye. I was hospitalised again a couple of days later, and was basically told that my body had taken so much stress and pressure that it was simply shutting itself down.”

And so after recovering he was even more determined to make the books happen.

“What happened to my mother inspired me to see this through,” he reveals, “and the Uncuddibles have became a symbol of hope, that I can switch off from policing when not on duty and concentrate on something else.

“Despite my mother knowing she was going to die, she managed to make one of the bears, albeit the last seven stitches were finished off by my sister in law. It’s the littlest Uncuddible called Shadow, which has now become an inspirational mascot that I take wherever I am doing promotions, signings or workshops in schools.”

Written and drawn under the pen name R J Thompson, there are now four books, as well as a colouring book, in the series with more to come.

This Bank Holiday Monday he’ll be at Charlie’s Bar on East Street, Colchester, for a special charity event in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital, and then back again for the town’s Invasion Event in Culver Square on Saturday, September 1. For more information go to facebook.com/theuncuddibles/