Thanks to Heybridge resident and fellow-Rotarian Simon Burwood, I have learned something new about Maldon's representation in the world of comic-books.

Our town is the birthplace of non other than Captain Britain, a superhero character created in 1976 for Marvel Comics.

With 'The Essex Serpent' (recently filmed in the district), H.G. Wells' 'War of the Worlds', and the recent TV series 'The Third Day' set on Osea Island, our fictional history is almost as diverse as reality.

In the comic series designed originally to appeal to an exclusively British audience, Brian Braddock (his name before becoming a superhero) was described as being born and raised in Maldon, in the fictional Braddock Manor.

A shy youth, Brian studies Physics, but after a near fatal bike crash, the ancient British hero Merlyn offers him his super powers. His role is (with others) to defend Britain, and in one episode he saves the country (and Prime Minister James Callaghan!) from a Neo-Nazi takeover.

Captain Britain has come and gone in comics on both sides of the Atlantic. Six years ago there was some excitement when an American producer started pitching a Captain Britain show to studios and Maldon was talked about as a location, but nothing seems to have come of this.

Maldon may seem an unlikely location for a fictional superhero patriot, though I suspect Byrhtnoth might have approved.