DENNIS the Menace has been stripped of his moniker and turned into a softy in a new-look version of Beano.

The spikey haired, stripy jumper wearing rascal has become just plain Dennis who "eats sprouts" in the title's comic and annual.

4 No longer a menace: the spiky-haired rascal is now just known as Dennis in new look Beano Credit: PA:Press Association

First appearing in 1951, Dennis and his pet dog Gnasher have been causing calamity and mayhem in The Beano for over sixty years and have become a national institution.

But Beano bosses say that while the troublesome schoolboy had "made mistakes in the past", he has now "moved away from his menacing ways".

They also deny the overhaul is a concession to political correctness.

Mike Stirling, head of Beano Studios Scotland, insisted that Dennis had not been a menace for years, although the strip was still branded “Dennis the Menace and Gnasher” in the 2017 Beano annual.

4 First appearing in 1951, Dennis and his pet dog Gnasher have been causing calamity and mayhem in The Beano for over sixty years Credit: PA:Press Association

4 Beano bosses say the troublesome schoolboy had has now 'moved away from his menacing ways' Credit: PA:Press Association

4 The new look 'Dennis' in TV series: 'Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed, which embraces difference and diversity Credit: CBBC

He said: “Today’s Dennis is a flawed hero, a ten-year-old boy who fears nothing and sometimes gets into trouble as a result."

When Dennis was a menace he terrified his neighbours, traumatised his parents and targeted his arch enemy Walter.

Studious and bespectacled, Walter Brown was the super Softy.

He wore a bow tie, followed the rules, always did his homework and was easy prey for Dennis and Gnasher.

The abandonment of menacing comes hand-in-hand with a new CBBC series, 'Dennis & Gnasher Unleashed, which embraces difference and diversity.

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Where Dennis’s pals used to be scruffy boys in his own image, his new television mates include two cool girls: JJ, a rock drummer, and Rubi, who zips around in a wheelchair.

The tormenting of Walter, once regarded as humorous, has been phased out and the abandoning of the “M” word is part of that move away from endorsing bullying behaviour.

Neither is Walter a “softy” anymore. He has become a cunning schemer with designs on power “who thinks the adventures of childhood are highly overrated”.

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