THE man behind childhood favourites such as the Clangers, Bagpuss, Basil Brush and Ivor The Engine has died.

Peter Firmin, who was 89, along with his co-creators, brought joy to generations of children with his skilfully-crafted animated creations.

His spokesman, who confirmed he died on Sunday after a short illness, said: “During a career spanning over six decades, Peter worked with great skill in a remarkably wide variety of creative disciplines as a fine artist, craftsman and author.

“Of all his work, he will probably be most fondly remembered for the characters he co-created and made.”

He created the cheeky fox Basil Brush with Ivan Owen and worked with his long-time business partner Oliver Postgate on Bagpuss, The Clangers, Ivor the Engine, Noggin the Nog and Pogles Wood.

Mr Firmin “devised, created, painted, drew and built the marvellous and diverse worlds” of these TV characters which still have “such magical and enduring appeal that they remain hugely popular to this day,” the spokesman added.

Mr Firmin was born in Cliff Road, Dovercourt, in 1928 and his father worked on the railways at Parkeston.

At the age of 15, he went to study at the Colchester School of Art where he was taught by such luminaries as Denis Wirth-Miller and Roderic Barrett.

It was Denis who suggested Peter should go to Central St Martin’s College in London to continue his artistic studies and it was there he met his wife, Joan, and his business partner Oliver Postgate.

Mr Firmin founded Smallfilms and his creation, the Moon Mouse from his Noggin The Nog stories, provided the inspiration when the BBC asked him to create something set in space.

With the race to get the first man on the moon hotting up in the 1960s, Firmin’s Clangers characters took children to a world away from their living rooms.

Mr Firmin said his partnership with Mr Postgate, which lasted half a century, “opened up the world of television to us and allowed us to explore new ways of telling stories to generations of children”, Mr Firmin said.

Reacting to the news that he would be presented with a Special Award at the Bafta Children’s Awards in 2014, Firmin said it was “touching” that his work was remembered with affection decades after it first hit screens.

The chair of Bafta’s Children’s Committee at the time said Firmin “helped lay the foundations” of today’s TV industry.

In recent years, Mr Firmin criticised the use of CGI on modern-day programmes saying there was more life in his knitted puppets.

“I hate CGI faces on humans because you look in the eyes and there’s nothing there,” he said. “There’s no soul.”

Bagpuss was voted the most popular BBC children’s programme ever made in 1999 and Mr Firmin was honoured with a Bafta Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014. He was also presented with an honorary degree from Essex University.

Mr Firmin is survived by his wife and his six daughters, who often collaborated on many of his works, plus his many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

The official home of the Clangers on twitter left a simple tribute which said “In loving memory of Peter Firmin” along with an image of the artist at work.