An Ashtead man has dressed up as a cat for his stint on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth.

Primary school teacher Robert Den Hartog, 35, raised money for the Rainbow Trust children's charity by donning a cat mask and tail and doing requests for change.

He said: “The crowds would say ‘do a dance’ and I’d tell them I'd do it if they put money in the bucket. I raised over £40 just standing there.”

Den Hartog, of Albert Road, said he enjoyed being on public display more than he thought he would. “Once you’re up there, you can talk to whoever you want to and do whatever you like.”

A would-be novelist, the idea for dressing as a cat came from a character in a story Mr Den Hartog is trying to publish.

The story, 'My Pet Rock', follows the adventures of a boy who is given a pet rock as a present.

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