"It’s self-therapy": Luton lollipop man shares how writing children’s books has helped his mental health

When 47-year-old Alex Saunders is not giving Chantry Primary Academy pupils a cheery smile as they make their way to and from school, he is creating characters for his books.

What started as a pastime has now become “a passion project”, as the Lewsey Farm man works on penning a third book.

So far, Alex has self-published two books – The Hoard and The Hoard and The Fart Fruit Tree – selling them at Brown Book in High Town and to parents he sees at work.

His cheeky goblin drawings have been paired with “nonsense poems” to create fun children’s stories.

He said: “I talk to the parents all the time, and they started buying these books off of me. I haven’t sold loads, it doesn’t cost that much to buy but I do it because of my mental health. I do my art because of that and it has developed into books.”

“It’s self-therapy, not a miracle cure, my art helps me. Personally, it is a little success.”

And he has got some fans outside of Luton, with customers in Australia and Chicago in the US.

Alex added: “I get some really good feedback. One parent said how her kids had made her read it three times. That’s what fuels me, getting comments like that.”

His books can be bought via his Instagram page – selling for £10 each.