AN ex-scout leader has put his love of telling campfire tales into writing a children's book.

Dave Pretty, who lives in Mosterton, is celebrating the release of his new book, Sandlands.

Sandlands, is about Jamie, his sister Clare and friend Ben, who after entering a secret tunnel in their sandcastle, find themselves in Sandlands, a mysterious world where everything is made from sand.

They find a time glass inscribed, 'The Sands of Time Rule This Kingdom'.

When Clare and the time glass are taken by pirates, they immediately find themselves in a perilous race against time, leaving the questions, will they rescue Clare and the time glass? And will they escape from the Sandlands alive?

Dave, 66, used to tell stories to his three children, and now tells them to his three grandchildren.

Having spent most of his life in Slough, where he worked as a sales manager, he moved to Mosterton in April this year.

Dave was involved in the Scout Association, and joined the First Britwell Scout Group at the age of 12, after which he was a leader at the group for 45 years.

Dave said: "It has always been my intention to write a book when I retired.

"I used to tell stories to scouts around the campfire, to my three children, and now my grandchildren.

"I have also written gang show sketches and a couple of pantomimes."

For Dave, campfire tales became a tradition, and he would tell the scouts a story about events that happened in the area where they are camping, usually taking a form of a ghost story.

It was through this that he realised a passion for writing a book, which took two years to write.

Dave said: "I had been thinking about the story for some time, so the planning of the storyline was not too hard.

"Before I started writing, I completed an online children's book writing course which I found very useful.

"The part that I found most difficult was actually forming the sentences, as I had to rewrite them many times over before I was satisfied."

The story was inspired by Dave's visits to the beach.

Dave said: "I have always been fascinated by sand sculptures. I think the idea came to me when I saw some sculptures on a beach and imagined what I might find if I were able to go inside one."

When asked if the characters are based on anybody in particular, Dave said: "The characters are not based on anybody in particular, but having worked with children for many years through scouting, I have come across a variety of characters.

"The three main characters are Jamie, who is lonely, an introvert and bullied at school, his friend Ben who is an extrovert and impulsive, and Jamie's sister Clare, who is a typical young teenage girl who puts up with her annoying brother."

The book is primarily aimed at children aged nine and above, although Dave said that a number of his friends read it and told him they also enjoyed the book.

Dave said: "I hope that readers enjoy reading Sandlands as much as I enjoyed writing it. Who knows, there may even be a sequel."

'Sandlands' is available in hardback, paperback and e-book versions, and can be brought online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Waterstones.