A Sunday newspaper has marked the 80th anniversary of two of its cartoons by unveiling a new statue of one of the strips’ main characters.

Both Oor Wullie and The Broons first featured in the 8 March 1936 edition of the Sunday Post.

Now a four-foot high bronze sculpture of Oor Wullie, a mischievous spiky-haired boy, has been unveiled in Dundee to celebrate the milestone.

The work, pictured below, by artist Malcolm Robertson, was funded by private and public sources and features a larger version of Wullie’s trademark upturned bucked to allow readers to pose for photographs with the monument.

The DC Thomson-owned Post has also set up ‘The Broons Awards’, which were held in Glasgow, to celebrate families throughout Scotland.

The awards are designed to celebrate those who “share and demonstrate the same values as the newspaper itself – honesty, decency, integrity, fairness, warmth – and those who go above and beyond to make a difference.”

Post editor Richard Prest said, “The whole team at the Sunday Post is delighted that Oor Wullie has been recognised and brought to life.

“We’re also delighted to be celebrating families throughout Scotland as The Broons mark their 80th anniversary in paper. The fact that these characters have been living in paper since 1936 is an outstanding achievement.”

Morris Heggie, who writes Oor Wullie, added: “The adventures of Oor Wullie have delighted Scots for eight decades. In that time the mischievous scamp has become a much loved national treasure.

“We are used to seeing Wullie in the black and white world of print but here he is in 3D – in his own fabulous bronze statue. A magnificent tribute to Dundee’s cheeriest son. Oor Wullie himself would be delighted that the bronze catches him about to embark on his legendary capers.”