Southend 'Mr Blobby' house painted in revenge wedding prank

Mr Blobby first appeared in the second series of Noel's House Party on BBC One

A newly-wed couple got back from honeymoon to find their home painted in the style of Mr Blobby - as part of a revenge prank by the groom's brother.

Plasterer Russell O'Rourke, 35, spent two days on the makeover of his brother Steve's home in Hamstel Road, Southend.

It was in retaliation to a joke six years ago when Russell was on honeymoon and Steve, a builder, put up a brick wall across his driveway.

The design has prompted mixed reaction from neighbours.

'Funny side'

Mr O'Rourke, 32, and his new wife Hayley, 31, arrived home at about 04:00 BST on Sunday to discover the house "glowing" pink, despite the early hour.

Mrs O'Rourke, a mother of two, said: "It was pure shock to start with.

Steve and Hayley O'Rourke have lived in the house for about five years

"We had a feeling he (Russell) might have done something because of the stunt Steve pulled, but we weren't expecting anything on the outside of the house.

"We were quite horrified, but then we just laughed and had to see the funny side of it.

"Everyone seems to love it and is taking pictures, they think it's hilarious. The neighbours have said it brightens up the street and we should keep it."

Crinkley Bottom

Staff at the Bakers Box, a sandwich bar opposite the pink property, said the house has "brightened people's spirits" and "everybody is smiling and talking about it".

However, one person told the BBC it was a "disgusting eyesore".

Mr and Mrs O'Rourke said they did not intend to keep the colour scheme long-term but admitted removing it may take some time.

"Russell thinks it's very funny and has no intention of helping to paint it over, but because we've been away and my husband has got such a backlog of work, it may well be sometime before the Blobby house goes," said Mrs O'Rourke.

Mr Blobby, who was pink with yellow spots, was a popular character on the Saturday evening TV programme Noel's House Party, starring Noel Edmonds, which ran on BBC One throughout the 1990s.

He disappeared from the public eye after the show was dropped in 1999.

A theme park in Morecambe based on the fictional village featured in the programme, Crinkley Bottom, closed after just 13 weeks in 1994, losing Lancaster City Council £2m.