ASK anyone the key to making people laugh and they'll tell you its having an arsenal of anecdotes up your sleeve - and Bewdley man Ken Sollom has them in droves.

In fact, Ken, 81, has so many stories from his childhood spent in the town he has decided, more than half a century later, to collect them in a book to boost the town's medical centre funds.

Bewdley - Many Moons Ago is packed with tall tales and hilarious yarns about his formative years in the town, from a dim-witted poacher who ended up with a backside full of leadshot, courtesy of a farmer's shotgun, to a "doolally" family who would run out during air raids and gesture wildly towards Birmingham.

The book, which Mr Sollom has produced at his own expense, is set in the 30s and 40s and features a cast of the eccentric, the jovial and the downright bizarre.

There's also a serious side to Mr Sollom's reminiscences, particularly how the town struggled with the might of the River Severn which has regularly flooded Bewdley and claimed the lives of many who tried to swim across it.

Yet for the most part it is a very funny book. You might have to suspend your disbelief for some of the tales but that does not stop it being a great read. Printed on glossy paper with some fine photographs, this is an ideal purchase for historians and those who like comic tales.

The book is available from Bewdley Print in Kidderminster and Phipps and Pritchard in Bewdley. It costs £4 and all proceeds go to Bewdley Medical Centre.