LITTLE Monsters have led the way to a monster contract between a North Yorkshire firm and the McDonald's chain.

Splash Licensing Ltd, of Tadcaster, which owns the intellectual property of the popular Little Monsters cartoon TV series, featuring the likes of cute naughty children such as Clumsy Clarissa and Tantrum Tabitha, has sold licensing rights to the fast food empire.

It means that McDonald's will produce up to 15 million plastic toys featuring nine of the 60 little characters as part of a three-week promotion beginning on Friday.

The deal is worth at least £100,000 for the UK event, but a lot more revenue will be generated if, as expected, McDonald's then takes up its licensing option to roll out the promotion throughout Europe.

Little Monsters, from an idea by artist Tony Garth, has featured in books which spawned 52 five-minute TV episodes for children on BBC1 and BBC2, with a new series planned. It is also hugely popular among children in France, Germany, Italy, Greece and Israel.

Each of the Little Monsters takes its own trait, such as Too Late Toby, Wide Awake Wesley, or Perfect Prudence.

Each lives in his or her own neighbourhood, has their own special playmates, relatives and pets (like Elvis the Slug). Every day they travel on the Big Yellow School Bus to school where many of their adventures unfold.

The McDonald's agreement is the latest in a series of successes for the £2 million turnover Splash Group started seven years ago by Russell Neale-Dever which, he says, "is now in acquisitive mood", looking to buy similar businesses with intellectual property which his organisation can exploit.

His firm controls the UK rights for Arthur, The Little Aardvark, the cartoon animation featured in 50 million books in print, whose TV shows have been seen by children in 60 countries.

The firm also holds the rights for Animal Stories, the CITV animation narrated by the late actor Nigel Hawthorne in 52 five-minute episodes, each featuring a different animal which won the BAFTA awards this year, beating Bob The Builder.

In January, Virtual Splash, a subsidiary of the group, launches 104 episodes in an Internet version of Hackman, a dog in a bucket.

Hackman is a three-year-old spaniel living with owners in a Manhattan apartment and analysed by a pet psychologist as having deepening neurotic symptoms, including unnecessary use of a yellow plastic head bucket which makes him feel secure.

Mr Neale-Dever said: "Hackman's deep insecurity, meaningful friendships, first love and skin disorders, coupled with his nave and reckless stoicism genuinely reflect teenage angst.

"We've already planned all the spin-offs and are negotiating with a magazine to offer free Hackman mouse mats as a promotion."

Another of its properties, Eddy the Bear, illustrated by Jez Alborough, published by Waller and broadcast by CITV, has just won the Cartoons on the Bay award at an annual festival in Italy for the best pre-school programme.

Part of the McDonalds promotion will be a children's competition to create their own Little Monster.

The winner's creation will appear in the TV series which goes into production in September for screening next year.

Mr Neale-Dever, 43, who for years worked as a publisher of children's books, directly employs eight people at his firm's HQ in Tadcaster High Street.

"But we also have a huge network of international agents through whom we can launch a property simultaneously in five continents," he said.

Updated: 09:03 Tuesday, July 16, 2002