Ringo Starr, the voice of Thomas the Tank Engine (and little known pop combo The Beatles) has just told fans that enough is enough and from the 20th October he is no longer going to respond to fan mail, citing that he has "too much to do." Perhaps he's going to get cracking on sorting out the global economic crisis?

In a video message to fans he said that “after the 20th of October, do not send fan mail to any address that you have. Nothing will be signed after the 20th of October. If that has the date on the envelope it’s going to be tossed."

There will no doubt be some disappointed people out there. People around the world have a huge emotional stake in The Beatles. It's a shame that he felt he had to release this video and essentially reject his fans... but it does make one wonder how much fan mail and "objects to be signed" he must receive.

Ringo's video message