Bereaved fans of the nation's favourite Mr Grumpy Victor Meldrew have been laying flowers at the spot where his death was filmed in a Hampshire village.

The flowers with joke messages started arriving at the railway station of Shawford, near Winchester, on Tuesday morning only hours after an estimated ten million viewers watched him get run over in the last episode of One Foot in the Grave.

Now there are seven bouquets at the spot near a railway bridge where Victor, played by Richard Wilson, was filmed during his last moments.

Messages on the cards include "Goodbye Victor - We can't believe it" and "Victor, keep moaning".

Another said: "I don't want to be a millionaire, I just want Victor back" - a reference to the row between the BBC and ITV over claims that ITV dumbed down Who Wants To Be A Millionaire to catch more viewers on Monday night.

In that edition, 14 million viewers watched Judith Keppel, 58, become the first to pocket £1m on the show.

Manager of the nearby Bridge Hotel and pub Kathy Airey said locals were bemused by the flowers and messages.

She said: "I think it's bizarre and a bit sad, and I could not believe it when I first saw them.

"Obviously people take these things seriously. We are expecting Elvis Presley to turn up at any moment.