When he started writing 37 years ago, Bradford on Avon children’s author Jeremy Strong could never have imagined he would now be releasing his 100th book.

Kidnapped! The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog’s Sizzling Summer is the seventh book in The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog series and follows Streaker on holiday. But someone is up to no good and only Streaker can sniff them out.

Mr Strong, 64, said: “It is an odd feeling. There is a certain amount of excitement to reaching a century but at the same time I am wondering how it all happened.

“It has been 37 years since my first book was published but it doesn’t feel like it; it has gone very fast.”

Mr Strong began writing at school and after discovering the works of Dylan Thomas, immersed himself in poetry as well as writing adult and children’s stories.

His children’s stories caught the eye of publishers but he continued his job as a primary school teacher.

He said: “It helped when it came to writing for the age group I was teaching. I have always been interested in the process of getting children to read, catching them when they are young.”

The award-winning author writes for children aged seven to 11 and his inspiration comes from a range of sources. He added: “A friend of mine owned a dog that was totally disobedient but it could run really fast and was loveable.

That is how Streaker came about.” The author, who has five grandchildren, visits schools and international festivals to test out his stories on children to “gauge the ebb and flow”.

Mr Strong, whose story There’s A Viking In My Bed was made into a BBC children’s TV series, said: “The most important thing is don’t give up trying. I wrote for five years before getting published.”

Kidnapped! The Hundred-Mile-An-Hour Dog’s Sizzling Summer is available from the beginning of June from bookshops and online.