The great-grandson of the famous writer Charles Dickens has said that a statue of his late relative is "long overdue" as the 200th anniversary of his birth approaches.

Commenting on the situation last week, Mark Charles Dickens endorsed plans to commemorate the anniversary of the man who brought the world Great Expectations, Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol with some birthday gifts.

Ian Dickens, another relative of the author, suggested that a number of monuments would be fitting to the literary figure.

"Like my Uncle Cedric and my cousin Mark, I endorse the call for a formal monument and if one appears in Rochester, another in Portsmouth and another in London, then hurrah to that," he remarked.

It is now close to 140 years since Dickens died. Just prior to his death he had indicated that he wanted to be remembered for his work alone and not in the form of a statue or a plaque.

Dickens was born in Portsmouth on February 7th 1812 and died aged 58 in 1870.