London, Oct 4 (ANI): The real life inspiration for Dennis the Menace, one of Britian's favourite cartoon characters, has been revealed.

Sporting spiky hair as a kid, Robert Fair, a former merchant navy officer from Dundee, is now running a garage in New Zealand.

Fair's father was on friendly terms with David "Davey" Law, who created the character for The Beano comic.

He emigrated from the UK 38 years ago. And it was recently that he came to know that the famous character was based on him.

Law, who died in 1971, never told his family reports The Times.

The revelation was made by Law's daughter, Rosemary Moffat.

Fair, now a grandfather of six, said he was delighted with the news.

"The description of Dennis the Menace does sound like me when I was young. I was always getting into trouble and I got a few slaps from my father and the belt at school lots of times," he said.

The 62-year-old mechanic recalled how he perched books on top of doors at Law's home so they would fall on the heads of the adults.

"I've always liked playing jokes on people and I have never lost that. I remember reading Dennis the Menace as a boy and all these years I have never known that was me, that was my character. I think it's fantastic, a real honour," he said.

Moffat said Fair's sense of mischief gave her father the idea for the first Dennis the Menace strip in 1951.

"Robert was a little brat when he was a boy and my father based Dennis's energy, movement and sense of mischief on him when he was doing his drawings," said Moffat. "Every time he left the house my father used to start laughing and say, 'What a menace he is'," she added. (ANI)