A Barkingside grandmother’s bedtime stories are sending children across the country to sleep in a new book.

Joan White, of Mossford Green, wrote down the tales she would spin for her grandchildren and saw them published nearly 20 years later.

Nan’s Little Night-Time Stories includes the adventures of a kidnapped princess, an adventurous field mouse, a flea-ridden mongrel, two little spiders and a pair of carpet nails.

Joan said: “When my grandchildren were about four I used to read them stories before bed but one night we ran out.

“My granddaughter Hannah said ‘why don’t you make up a story?’ and that’s how it all started.”

Nan’s Little Night-Time Stories is available online and from some bookshops.