Following his highly publicised brush (!) with the law, outspoken glove-puppet Basil Brush is likely to be on his best behaviour when he brings his latest touring show to Bournemouth on Saturday.

Basil of the Caribbean sails into the Pier Theatre just a couple of weeks after he found himself reported to the police after a TV show showed him being offered pegs by a gypsy.

Members of the travelling community took exception saying it was blatant stereotyping and for a while the hapless fox was at the centre of an investigation about whether the scene was racially abusive.

Baffled TV bosses pointed out that the scene in question had been shown seven times since it was first broadcast six years ago without any complaint, while furious MP Patrick Mercer lashed out at the waste of police time.

"Surely they have better things to do than investigate the alleged crimes of a fox puppet," he fumed.

Happily the matter was resolved without any further action being pursued and Basil, who is currently a star of CBBC and BBC1, is continuing his swashbuckling boom-tastic stage adventure with his reputation untarnished.

"It seems you can't say or do anything these days without someone possibly taking offence," said Pier Theatre boss Ian Goode.

"However I'm sure that Basil has learnt from experience and his show in will be perfect family entertainment."

Jeremy Miles