Man mad on Mr Men is taking part in a pop-up exhibition to celebrate the brand’s 45th birthday

Ben Daly, 23, who lives in Eastbourne with parents Kate and Jerry, has been invited to show some of his collection at the event in the Oxo Tower on the South Bank.

There will be hundreds of pieces of memorabilia on display from the past 45 years, celebrating the nation’s favourite Mr Men and Little Miss characters.

Ben has more than 2,600 items relating to Mr Men, ranging from rubbers and pencils to cheese wrappers and Christmas crackers to jam lids, train sets LPs and even working character radios.

He said: "I have loved the characters since about the age of about four and five when mum used to read them to me. I enjoy the humour and the simplicity, every story has a morale to it.

"My favourite is Mr Small, and that’s only because I could relate to him when I was very young. He was a nice character.

"I think I am the number one Mr Men collector in the country. The loft is full of various memorabilia and I keep up to date with the Facebook page, videos on YouTube and e-bay.

"I am thrilled to have been chosen to exhibit in London, over the moon, and I am sure it will be a great experience."

The family’s vision is to open a Mr Men mini-theme park in East Sussex in the next five years, leading up to the 50th anniversary in 2021.

The business plan has been drawn up – now the hunt is on for three acres of land.

Ben explained: "The model houses would be interactive depending on which character lived there. My dad is a builder, he has already built the model houses and he would generate the model village.

"We are also the only family to have ever created a Mister man land map. I want my own museum or theme park and it is something I know that we can achieve.

"We have some funding in place but we desperately need the land. We came so close once before to finding the right area but it sadly fell through."

Mother Kate said Ben, who is autistic, has built up his collection over the last 18 years.

She said: "Autistic children often get obsessive about things and with Ben it was Mr Men. I loved the books myself in the 70s and used to read them to Ben. He just fell in love with them."

Ben has visited car boot sales, jumble sales and even internet auction sites to find new or rare Mr Men merchandise and his collection fills his bedroom and loft from top to bottom.

Back in 2004 Ben won the chance of a lifetime to meet the man behind the colourful cartoons. He was invited on to This Morning to show off his collection of Mr Men and Little Miss merchandise.