A BBC children's TV presenter has been accused of getting his sign language embarrassingly wrong.

CBeebies character Mr Tumble - aka presenter Justin Fletcher - aims to greet hard-of-hearing tots by signing: "I'm happy to see you."

But angry parents say the BBC is mixing up its signals and broadcasting something much more offensive.

Jamie Miller, who works for the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, says he was stunned when he watched Something Special with daughter Kate, five.

Mr Miller, 32, from Northallerton, North Yorkshire, said: "The signs for 'happy' and 'f***ing' are quite similar but it was an awful mistake to make.

"Katie, who is learning sign language, asked what the gesture meant. I didn't know what to tell her."

The BBC denied making a mistake and said they were using Makaton signals which are different to British Sign Language.

But RNID spokeswoman Kate Sidwell said: "Makaton is used more for children with learning difficulties - it is essentially a different language."

Goosey's Gabbings...

This reminds me of a joke by Rondell Sheridan, who said that the spanish word for shark is "Tibron", and he goes to say "If there is any word that needs to be universal, don't you think SHARK is at the top of that list?" and then goes on to roleplay..."Tibron--Well, tibron to you too! Hey Honey, I'm speaking spanish!!......Honey?"

Labels: BBC, bizarre, Cbeebies, comedy, england, funny, humorous, justin fletcher, Mr. Tumble, news, odd, offbeat, offbeat news, quirky, sign language, weird