Barmy Britain, Jack Crossley, John Blake, £7.99

WE all love the daft, the eccentric and the downright stupid side of the British character that makes us the rich and fascinating nation we are.

Take for instance, the pensioner who drives an open-top sports car while wearing a felt cap garnished with seagull and flamingo feathers mixed with sprigs from a long-stemmed decorative flower.

Or Marley Tiles millionaire Sir Owen Aisher who, in later life, amused himself by shooting trout from his electric wheelchair.

The country is awash with such characters who plough their own individual furrow and don't much care what other people think.

Their foibles and predilections are to be found in a new laugh-out-loud paperback called Barmy Britain, a collection of hilarious stories that will make you shake your head in disbelief. Compiler Jack Crossley came across a doctor who told a patient he found taking exercise boring and if he should ever feel the need, he would drink his gin and tonic standing up.

And while we are on the health subject, how about the Scottish clinic that issued cards to patients which included ... an advert for the town's funeral director.

I could go on – the book has hundreds of similar odd odes, but I will end with my favourite snippet.

Culled from The Times, it told the story of a Devon man given a two-year Asbo after tricking women into taking off their tights.

He pretended he wanted them to repair his fan belt.

As the man says, you couldn't make it up.

ANDY SMART