Popular children's goofball Mr Tumble has been forced to resign from the CBeebies channel after it was revealed that his purported use of 'Makaton', a particular method of signing used by children with learning difficulties, was faked.

In fact, Mr Tumble ( real name Justin Fletcher) has never been trained in any methods of special communication, and was doing nothing more on screen than making up his own signs to fit in with the stories he was telling. Unfortunately for the BBC, he stumbled upon several gestures which are swear words in British Sign Language, repeating them several times in each episode and causing great offence to the show's viewers, Kathy and Poppy Long complained.

"I was watching Something Special with my daughter when I noticed Mr Tumble swear during the opening song" said Kathy, who works for the Royal National Institute for the Deaf. "At first I thought I had just imagined it, but then he did exactly the same thing five minutes later. I was horrified, and had to change the channel straight away. I couldn't believe it!"

In British Sign Language, a crude expression of displeasure with an individual is signed by raising the first and second fingers, turning the knuckle side toward the intended recipient, and separating the fingers into a 'V' position. This is the gesture that Mr Tumble made whilst singing his greeting to the programme, and which upset Kathy Long.

"I did tune in the next day" said Mrs Long "after making sure Poppy was well away from the tv set. As well as the rude gesture he had made the day before, Mr Tumble also raised his right arm, fist clenched, with his left fist pushed into the crook of his right arm. Anyone who knows British Sign Language can tell you what this means, and it isn't anything good."

Although Mr Tumble wasn't available to coment on his shock resignation, a BBC spokesman said that his actions were a terrible mistake, and not in any way meant to offend anyone. "We are victims here as much as the viewers" added the spokesman. "Mr Tumble has been one of our most trusted performers for several years, and we honestly believed he was using a proper method of communication. As soon as someone actually watched the show and noticed what was happening, we took action to remove the problem." Unfortunately, the BBC attempted to sign this apology, and further complaints have been received after the spokesman held up his left arm, with his fingers forming a circle, and moved his arm up and down on the diagonal whilst describing Mr Tumble.