But there's no need to hide behind the settee; this one comes in peace.

In fact, you're more likely to hear it rattling a collection tin than screeching "exterminate!"

Doctor Who's nemesis might be an unlikely candidate to be a charity fundraiser.

But this replica of the real thing, created by Milnsbridge man Garry Appleyard, is set to start bringing in cash for Kirkwood Hospice.

Maintenance fitter Mr Appleyard, 45, of George Street, has spent about a year and hundreds of pounds making the motorised, working, talking model.

He said: "I did it for my kids, really. They started watching Doctor Who and really liked the Daleks, so I decided to make one.

"I thought it would be a lot easier than it has been. I'm not a massive Doctor Who fanatic and I wouldn't say it has been a labour of love - but it has certainly been a labour!

"But once I put my mind to something I have to get it done."

The 5ft 8in Dalek is made from glass fibre and a collection of odds and ends, including Christmas decorations. It also has a special speaker that allows the user to make it talk.

Mr Appleyard made sure it was authentic by following detailed plans from specialist website www.projectdalek.co.uk

He hopes to take it out and about in Huddersfield to raise money for the Dalton hospice, where his girlfriend, Annette Summers, is a volunteer.

Mr Appleyard added: "I've never done anything on this scale before. I'll be taking a blooming good rest before I do anything like it again."

Diane Fowler, manager of the hospice's shop at Milnsbridge, said: "It's absolutely tremendous, very impressive.

"Garry and Annette had originally mentioned putting it in the window of the shop, so I was expecting something small. I couldn't believe it when I saw it.

"We're really grateful. It will be a great fundraising tool and create a lot of interest. Kids will love it."

* The Daleks - pronounced DAH-lecks - are a fictional extra-terrestrial race of mutants from TV science fiction series Doctor Who

* The Daleks were created by writer Terry Nation and BBC designer Raymond Cusick and were introduced in December, 1963, in the second Doctor Who series

* A Dalek is a grotesque mutated organism integrated with a tank-like mechanical casing made of dalek- anium.

* Their famous catchphrase is "EX-TER-MI-NATE!", with each syllable individually screeched in a frantic electronic voice

* `Hiding behind the sofa whenever the Daleks appear' has even been cited as an essential element of British cultural identity

* The word Dalek has entered the Oxford English and other major dictionaries. The Collins Dictionary defines it rather broadly as `any of a set of fictional robot-like creations that are aggressive, mobile, and produce rasping staccato speech'