Oor Wullie is top Scottish icon

Oor Wullie's and his bucket are inseparable

Oor Wullie has beaten historical heroes, sports stars and Hollywood actors to be named Scotland's top icon.

The comic strip hero from Dundee, famous for sitting on his bucket, came first in a survey marking this year's Tartan Day festivities on 6 April.

He beat William Wallace and the most famous living Scotsman, Sir Sean Connery, who were second and third.

Oor Wullie has been appearing in the Sunday Post newspaper since 1936 and has legions of fans around the world.

Lulu, in fifth place, was the only woman who made it into the top 10.

TOP 10 SCOTTISH ICONS 1: Oor Wullie 2: William Wallace 3: Sean Connery 4: Kenny Dalglish 5: Lulu 6: Jock Stein 7: Ally McCoist 8: Billy Connolly 9: Ewan McGregor 10: Rob Roy

Further down the charts were Mel Gibson, who on the back of his stirring performance in Braveheart has been declared an "honorary" Scot, and Mrs Mack from the Scottish soap opera High Road, who received one vote.

A spokesman for VisitScotland said: "As a nation, Scotland boasts a range of highly recognisable icons, and on a popular level, Oor Wullie is certainly part of that tradition.

"I'm sure the bulk of those he pipped to the post in this poll, would also willingly declare themselves fans.

"He can now sit even prouder on his legendary bucket after scooping this accolade."

The website survey of 1,000 people was commissioned by Hall's, one of the world's biggest producers of haggis.