Grandma-of-three Eve Stuart-Kelso was stunned to see leprechaun Murphy outside her Gloucester home, carrying a note putting his world tour down to "itchy feet".

The album of 48 photos shows Murphy abseiling down a mountain, standing in a shark's mouth, swimming in the sea and riding a motorbike. Also with him were immigration stamps for South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong and Laos.

The gnome, whose "travelling companion" is referred to as The Bear, said in the album he attracted unwanted attention from customs officials and took up 25% of the party's luggage allocation.

Some of the pictures show a group of young men, who could be responsible for the globetrotting stunt.

The letter says: "There's more to life than watching daily commuter traffic and allowing passing cats to urinate on you."

The grandmother-of-three from Longlevens said: "I just keep thinking how funny it is. It makes me smile to see all the people he met on his travels. It was a wonderful surprise and of course it's so nice to get some good news. The story really is unbelievable."