The illustrator of the Gruffalo children’s books has designed a postcard to mark World Postcard Day.

Axel Scheffler produced the card for Dorset-based The Handwritten Letter Appreciation Society, which he joined two years ago.

It depicts Postman Bear, another character he illustrated for books written by Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson.

The postcard has been made available to download from the society’s website.

The society, founded seven years ago in Swanage by Dinah Johnson, has 1,600 members and aims to keep the art of handwritten letters alive.

Mr Scheffler said: “There is nothing quite like writing and sending a handwritten postcard to a friend.

“I have lived in England for 40 years and keeping in touch with friends and family in Germany in this way has been very important to us.

“A postcard or letter is personal and unique – it is like a gift in itself.

“There is also nothing quite like receiving a card or letter through the post. It always brightens your day.

“It is nice to think about the person sitting down and writing the card – and they can picture you receiving it. The whole process is a sign of true friendship.”

Ms Johnson said Mr Scheffler wrote to ask to join the society.

“He obviously really believes in the power of letter writing and postcard writing,” she said.

“We’ve sent postcards back and forth and he’s sent beautiful envelopes that he’s decorated.

“I thought I could write to him and see if he would mind doing a little postcard for us and he said ‘yes’.

“It’s getting a bit more difficult with the cost of postage but it’s still a lovely way to connect with people and you get a lovely picture.

“If you go around the shops in Dorset you can still find lots of postcards available.”