It could be time for Tinky Winky and pals to hang up their handbags, turn off the custard machine and pack up Noo Noo - there's a new gang in town...

THE CHILDREN'S entertainment market is a tricky one to break into. But a brace of south coast men believe they have come up with a concept that could prove to be the new Teletubbies.

Do you know a person who simply refuses to do something?

In all other things they're considerate and persuadable - but they have a blind spot about one issue.

It's called a 'won't'.

Many 'won'ts' have their roots set firmly in childhood and go on to become the irrational won'ts of later life.

Now this tricky issue has become the subject of a new series of children's books, created by local author Simon Chadwick.

"Collectively they're all known as Won'tlings, but each character takes its name from the thing it won't do.

"For instance, a Speakling won't speak, a Laughling won't laugh and a Walkling won't walk."

The Won'tlings live in the Land of Won't (of course).

All the stories centre around the land's ruler, a six-year-old boy called King Will, and his companion Red Ted.

The Won'tlings were originally the brainchild of Dorset songwriter Ralph Bailey.

A successful lyricist, Ralph also dabbles with poetry and the culmination of one evening's work was a 16-line poem called "The Land of Won't".

Ralph's family spotted the concept's potential and encouraged him to show it to friends.

The general feedback was that it was perfect for the children's market, so Ralph contacted Waterside-based author and illustrator of the New Forest Friends books Simon Chadwick and asked if he could help expand on the idea.

"I read the poem through a few times and could soon appreciate the scope of the concept," he said. "I scribbled some character designs, wrote a few stories, took them along to Ralph and he loved them. Red Ted didn't exist in Ralph's original poem, but I felt King Will needed a sidekick to talk things through with. Fortunately Ralph was really taken with him, but I have to confess that the jester's hat was Ralph's son Scott's suggestion. It was the finishing touch."

Like Simon's New Forest Friends books, there is a deliberate educational slant to each tale.

"I couldn't write a superfluous story and be comfortable with it. What makes it interesting for me is that each book helps the reader understand why it can be detrimental to both them and those around them when they won't do something."

Although Simon has penned ten stories so far, and has created a further 15 Won'tlings for future development, only three books have hit the shelves, with others following on at later dates.

Simon and Ralph have also been working with Visualisation Services Limited in Dorking to produce a computer animated version of one of the stories.

Their dream is to take them to television for a head-to-head with Dipsy, Lala, Po and Tinky Winky.

n The Story of The Sleepling, The Story of the Quietling and The Story of the Speakling are available now from Waterstone's.