A Norfolk has penned a children's book, inspired by the dragon gargoyle she made for a church extension.

Rachael Butler is now hoping her book, called Torp: The Playful Little Dragon, will help to inspire her pupils to write their own stories too.

Mrs Butler's father was the architect for the extension to Thorpe St Andrew's parish church in Yarmouth Road, and he called upon her skills as a ceramicist to make a gargoyle for the roof.

The 41-year-old, who lives in Hillside Road with her husband Daniel and children Jessica, seven and James, five, said: 'When I was making it I saw the original gargoyles on the church as the mother and father and the one I made as the baby one.'

But it was when she was with her colleagues from White Woman Lane School in Sprowston that she decided to finally write a book about the gargoyle.

She said: 'We decided to give each other a challenge and mine was to write a story about my gargoyle. I had always wanted to write a book and also do illustrations so I thought it was a great idea.

'It's been an absolute pleasure to write.'

Mrs Butler has self-published the book using specialist website Lulu.com, and said the ease of the process has inspired her school to consider using a similar format to create books with pupils.

She said: 'It's a great idea to do with young children at school to encourage them to get writing and produce their own books.'

The book is currently available to buy from www.lulu.com and Mrs Butler says she hopes that it will also be available to buy from Amazon in the coming months.

Do you have a story about Thorpe St Andrew? Call reporter Kim Briscoe on 01603 772474.