Larkin about as toad hits the road

But Larkin with Toads also jump-started a budding poet’s imagination, who used it to inspire his own quirky journey.

John Hakes was working in Hull when the Larkin25 project was launched, to mark the 25th anniversary of the celebrated Hull poet Philip Larkin’s death which included 40 large glass fibre sculptures of decorated toads going up round the city each with their own theme.

The move honoured two of Larkin’s most famous poems, Toads and Toads Revisited.

Organisers hoped it would be a catalyst inspiring others on their own creative ventures and Mr Hakes has done just that.

After buying the Poem Toad sculpture“on a whim” when the works were sold off at auction for charity, Mr Hakes came up with the idea of writing a book in verse about travelling around the country, meeting sporting and business personalities and other celebrities on the way.

The result is Toads on Tour – a 133-page book written in comic verse, with proceeds going to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.

Mr Hakes, a former squash professional, said: “The general public were very keen on the toads – there were busloads of primary school children who were brought in to see them.

“People from out of town, tourists were saying how great it was, so there were a lot of good vibes.

“Probably the day after the auction, when I gave it a little more thought, I thought I could do something with it for charity, and maybe could take it on tour, and because they were cheery I could write a cheery comic verse.”

To carry the toad Mr Hakes bought a small Fiat Cargo van – and then started contacting people to help: “It was a bit funny,” he said.

“You have to approach people and say you’ve got an unusual request – would they mind a photo being taken with a large glass fibre toad?”