Children 'crushed' as Womble loses his head on live stream

THE CREATOR of the Wombles has caused a stink having accidentally taken his head off during a live performance, leaving children horrified that their heroes may not be real, the Daily Mail reports.
 
Mike Batt was wearing an Orinocco costume for a musical performance on Simon Mayo's Drivetime show, which was streamed on the BBC website. Disaster struck when Batt, mistakenly believing he was off-air, took off his headgear to the dismay of children across the nation.
 
Furious parents jammed the switchboards to complain. "I'm very, very angry", said father-of-four Peter McFarland. "I have an absolutely crushed and distraught six-year-old".

Mother Vickie McFarland went further: "The Wombles have lost my support - my son is heartbroken and now he doesn't believe the Wombles are real."

Batt attempted to explain away the incident, saying that he was just covering for the real Orinocco, who was off sick.
 
He then blasted the BBC for failing to switch off the webcam. "I told them (the BBC) that I needed a break after the songs (as it) was high heat - they were supposed to give me a two-minute break!"
 
A spokesman for the BBC shot back: "The group were fully aware that they were being filmed and had not been given the all-clear that they were off air."

The devastating Womble revelation follows another blow to childhood icons last month when the Littlewoods Christmas TV ad campaign reportedly sparked "distress" among children by suggestion Father Christmas was not real. Despite receiving more than 450 complaints from outraged parents, the UK advertising watchdog ruled out an investigation.

Meanwhile, the damning evidence of the Batt’s head coming off has been edited from the BBC’s footage of the Simon Mayo production. ·