JINGS, crivvens, help ma boab!

It would have even PC Murdoch scratching his head.

Oor Wullie is at the centre of a police investigation after officers stopped a car in Banff and discovered 33 garden ornaments, which are believed to have been taken from gardens under the cover of darkness.

The popular cartoon figure was joined by the seven dwarfs - without Snow White - and several other characters in the haul.

Police believe they were taken from a variety of addresses within Aberdeenshire and are asking people to check their gardens.

The car was stopped in the early hours of Thursday.

It is thought one of the figures may belong to pensioner Isla Johnstone, who reported a missing Oor Wullie statue to police back on February 22.

The concrete statue ­disappeared from her garden in the Angus village of Edzell, north of Brechin, during the night.

Mrs Johnstone, 70, is ­waiting to hear from police if it is the same one

Her daughter Lynne Calder, 46, said: "Folk like to laugh at all these gnomes but it was a talking point for all the kids in the village."

Three males are currently helping Police Scotland with their inquiries.