A nine-year-old schoolboy’s board game is proving a Christmas hit, Harrods said yesterday.

The famous department store said Scott Ballantyne was one of the youngest people to have designed a product for the shelves of their London store.

Master Scott, from Tillicoultry in Clackmannanshire, invented the board game Animal Advent-ure from the remnants of an old advent calendar while off sick from school.

Harrods were so impressed by the sales pitch from the schoolboy that they ordered 1,000 copies of the game which went on the shelves at their London store in November.

Due to demand, the game is now available online through the Harrods website. A spokesman for Harrods said: “The game is selling extremely well in Harrods Toy Kingdom and has been a very popular choice of board game for the Christmas season.

“Due to this popularity, Animal Advent-ure has also been made available online from Harrods.com for the busy Christmas shopping season and has also proved extremely popular with our online shoppers.

“Scott is one of the youngest people ever to have designed a product that has gone on to our shelves in the UK.”

The spokesman said Scott would “hopefully” visit the store in the new year to see the product on the shelves but due to current bad weather the visit had been delayed.

Following Harrods’ announcement that they would be selling the game, Master Scott said earlier this year: “I’ve been inventing things from quite an early age but Animal Advent-ure was one creation that really seemed to excite my friends and family.

“In just two years it has evolved from an old advent calendar to a board game sold in Harrods alongside the likes of Monopoly and Cluedo – I still can’t quite believe it.” The game, which costs £24.95, has been available online since December 1.