A FORMER Basingstoke teacher has written a children’s book about a pig which flies backwards.

Jamal Ullah, who taught at Cranbourne Business and Enterprise College from 1974 to 1997, has published the first in a series of stories about Bernard the Backward Flying Pig, who goes on adventures with his best friend, Mabel the chicken.

The 63-year-old author made up the stories for his son Jules when he was a child, and would read them to him at bedtime before he went to sleep.

He said: “The books are for children in the four to nine age range and are cleverly illustrated, funny, old-fashioned stories that have positive messages.”

To accompany the book, Mr Ullah, who now lives in Devon, has also written songs which he performs with another ex-Cranbourne teacher, Chris Kennard.

The pair, who were in a teachers’ rock band called Canine Abrasive in the 1980s, have released a CD of music to go with the book. The books are illustrated by Chloe Stuchbery, Mr Ullah’s niece.

The father-of-one and grandfather-of-three, said: “Chloe is a talented artist, now at university in Newcastle studying fine art, and she drew my instructions perfectly and added bits of her own to the illustrations. She has wit and real talent.”

Mr Ullah signed copies of his book with Chloe at the Tea Bar, in London Street, on July 13 – and he paid tribute to his former Cranbourne pupils.

He said: “The students at Cranbourne were just great and taught me all I needed to know about what made a good teacher.

“I was interested in getting positive messages out to children using any way I could and some of that finds its way into the Bernard books.”