A POPULAR TV presenter has signed up to tour Hoburne Holiday Parks this year.

Alex Winters of the BBC’s toddler channel CBeebies discovered the parks after asking Twitter followers for suggestions of places to stay in Devon.

He was so impressed that he will be touring five of the company’s seven parks this year, visiting each at least twice.

Hoburne Bashley near New Milton and Hoburne Park at Christchurch will be among the venues where he will be appearing along with Hoburne’s mascot Sammy Seahorse.

“I had a fantastic time at Hoburne last year.

“Everyone was so friendly and welcoming and it will be great to be back again through 2014,” said Alex.

Many of his thousands of Twitter followers recommended Hoburne when he asked for recommendations of places to stay in Devon last year.

“Caravans are part of my childhood,” he said.

“We used to stay on holiday parks all over the place when I was a child and I loved it.

“Experiencing that all again through my own children’s eyes last summer was really exciting, although the caravans have changed a bit.

“The one we stayed in at Hoburne Devon Bay had an iPod docking station and that's a million miles away from any caravan I remember.”

Rosie Kennar, chairman of Hoburne Holiday Parks, said: “We are delighted and very excited to be working with Alex Winters this year.

“He got involved in our entertainment during his stay with us last August and it was such a huge success.

“He was a great hit with the children and the parents and we are very much looking forward to welcoming him back.”

Family-run Hoburne Holiday Parks traces its roots to 1912, when the current chairman’s great-grandfather bought a plot of land at auction. One by one, people applied for permission to put up temporary bungalows.