A SELF-PUBLISHED South Devon author is to have his work brought to life on a London stage today.

The Mystery of Cary Park was registered nurse Charlie Shield's first attempt at writing and it has now sold more than 1,000 copies in print.

Today he will see this work performed for the first time, with most of youngsters taking part being able to go on a follow-up trip to the Bay later this summer to see the locations at first hand.

Charlie explained: "In January I was contacted by Graham Contor, head of drama at Highgate Wood School in north London.

"He told me that after reading the book he thought it would make an ideal project for his students to act out on the stage. As such, he obtained funding to have the book transcribed into a play, and over the past few months the students have been working hard on the project.

"It is now all but ready to be performed and I believe there should be an audience of around 200 or so.

"He also told me that the show is to be filmed and a DVD produced.

"In addition, and as a reward for their hard work, the young students shall be visiting Torquay later in the summer to take in some of the sights and scenery mentioned in the book. I understand that they are quite excited with this prospect."

Charlie moved with his family to South Devon in 1986 and the book is based in and around Torquay.

"In July 2005 I was sitting on the garden bench with one of my young daughters" he said.

"She asked me to tell her a story from when I was a little boy. I'd already been through all the usual adventures, time and time again, but she insisted on a new one, in fact, a scary one.

"Eventually, I tapped into some distant memory from my younger years in Scotland. When I was a young lad it seemed that I had the freedom to go out and play without too much parental interference. However, I still had to be home before it got dark.

"One of the favourite spots for the kids was a park, set in woodland, that had once been a country estate.

"There was a playground built on the site of the mansion house, and the open park had once been the gardens. To get the kids home before nightfall, the parents would remind them that when the sun went down, the playground would disappear and be replaced by an old haunted mansion.

"Needless to say, we always got home before it got dark. But even now, I'm still convinced that I saw this old house.

"My daughter loved the story, even though it scared her. The following day she asked for the story again, and before long I found myself writing out a couple of sides of notepaper. Within a few days her mind had wandered elsewhere, but what I'd written got me thinking. I came up with a few ideas, evolution took its course, and we now have the finished article."