After 60 years on the run, prime murder suspects Colonel Mustard and Miss Scarlett gave themselves up at Scotland Yard today.

The two fictional characters posed outside London's police headquarters to mark the 60th anniversary of the board game Cluedo in which players guess which of six guests at Tudor Close killed their unsuspecting host.

Anthony Pratt, a clerk from Kings Heath, Birmingham, devised the game which was originally called Murder and designed for eight players.

His daughter Marcia Davies said: "It's amazing that the game my father invented is celebrating its 60th year. In that time it has brought pleasure to millions of people - of all generations - across the globe, which is a legacy I'm immensely proud of."

Hasbro toy and game company representative Craig Wilkins said: "Cluedo is without a doubt one of the most recognisable and endeared board games around.

"Characters like Miss Scarlett and Colonel Mustard are known around the world, so if you mention them to anyone they'll know what you're talking about. It's very rare that a game should have such an impact on our lives."

Anthony Pratt should have been rich and famous from the board game which went on to become a global hit, selling millions in 23 countries, and spawning a film, play and TV series.

Little is known to fans about the brains behind the game. His epitaph at Bromsgrove Cemetery simply reads: “A Very Dear Father. Anthony E Pratt. Born 10 August 1903. Died 9 April 1994. Inventor of Cluedo. Sadly missed.”

Now the former civil servant who dreamt up the game during the Second World War, is being remembered for the 60th anniversary of the game. A plaque dedicated to his memory will be unveiled at toy company Hasbro’s UK office in Uxbridge, Middlesex.

In a 1990 interview Mr Pratt said: “I was leaning on the fence of our Kings Heath home and it dawned on me that this wretched old war was killing the country’s social life.”

On the other side of the fence was his friend Geoffrey Bull, who had invented the high-seas adventure game Buccaneer and sold it to Waddington’s, since taken over by Hasbro.

In 1945, Mr Pratt made his own agreement with Waddington’s but, due to a shortage of materials, the game wasn’t made until 1949. But success was elusive and, in 1953, Mr Pratt signed over all royalties from overseas sales for £5,000.

His daughter Marcia Davies said: “It’s amazing that the game my father invented is celebrating its 60th year.

“In that time it has brought pleasure to millions of people - of all generations - across the globe, which is a legacy I’m immensely proud of.”

Hasbro's Mr Wilkins added: “To mark the occasion, we will be unveiling a plaque at Hasbro’s UK office that is dedicated to the memory of Mr Pratt and the invention of this extraordinary game.”

Cluedo Facts
• Originally the game was called “Murder” and was for up to eight players.
• The name “Cluedo” is taken from the Latin word “Ludo” which means “I play”.
• “Murder at Tudor Close” was the subtitle for the first version of the game.
• The original suspects were Colonel Yellow, Mr Gold, Miss Grey, Mr Brown, Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, Nurse White and Mrs Silver.
• Dr Black wasn’t the original victim, instead they were selected each time from among the ten characters by drawing a card at the beginning of the game.
• The rooms in the original game were the lounge, gun room, dining room, kitchen, ballroom, conservatory, billiard room, library, study and hall.
• The original weapons were axe, cudgel, bomb, rope, dagger, pistol, hypodermic syringe, poison and poker.