HE is anything but the perfect pet - a lazy, trouble-making ginger furball whose life revolves around sleep and lasagne.

But despite his many faults, the world has taken Garfield to its heart since he first appeared in 1978.

A firm favourite in The Northern Echo for more than a quarter of a century, he is about to make his second big-screen outing - and the cast and crew are heading to North Yorkshire.

Part of Garfield 2 is to be shot in York while other scenes will be filmed a few miles down the road at Castle Howard.

Comedian Billy Connolly and actress Lucy Davis, of The Office, will appear as the cat's vet and the love interest of Garfield's owner, Jon.

As in the first film, Garfield will be a computer-generated image.

Filming is due to take place in York tomorrow and on Friday, and around the Castle Howard area over the next five days.

But the producers are staying silent on which, if any, of the stars will be in the area or why the locations were chosen.

Garfield is the most-widely syndicated comic-strip in the world.

He made the transition to TV, becoming a firm favourite with millions of cartoon viewers.

And his first big-screen outing, released last year, proved an international money spinner, with a worldwide take of more than £110m.

The movie is expected to boost visitor figures at Castle Howard, with fans going to see where it was made.

"It sounds like a good fun film to be involved with," said a spokesman.