A NEW craze is sweeping South Lakeland as people fondly remember a much-loved childhood cartoon.

There is nothing new about seeing people transfixed to their mobile phones, but now there is a good chance it could be someone attempting to catch a Pokemon.

Pokemon Go was officially launched in the UK last Thursday, but it had caught the attention of thousands of 'trainers' long before then.

Operating from the user's smartphone GPS tracker, the game immerses the individual in the world of Pokemon using maps as people aim to catch, train, evolve, and battle their favourite creatures.

Everything from Charmander to Charizard and Bulbasaur to Venasaur can be found in Kendal. Even the town's war memorial has become a 'gym' where Pokemon are pitched against one another. Although one concern is this could be contrived to be disrespectful, according to the Royal British Legion.

Lt Col. M R Rowney MBE, of the Cumbria branch, said: "If they are using it as an attraction to look at names then fine, but if it's becoming abusive that's when it's a different ball game because it's a place of respect for the fallen, especially in this year with the anniversary of the Somme.

"I think it is (disrespectful) because it's a place of memorial and should be respected rather than be a place where people can make their own gains."

One Kendal woman who has got caught up in the craze is Holly Skillen of Gillinggate. She has enjoyed the nostalgia the new game has brought to fans everywhere.

"It's good because it's nice to have something that makes you get out there and do stuff. I've been walking at least two or three miles a day when I've been using it," she said.

"It has a mixture of being nostalgic and good for young kids. Pokemon is 20 years old now and young parents of the Pokemon generation can introduce it to their kids. It can bring families together and it's become huge again."

A new Facebook group has even been set up in the town to allow users to tip each other off where various Pokemon can be found.

Founder Alex Varty said: "It's something new, it's different, and it's quite interesting and gets you out and about. In the past couple of days I've met so many different people playing it.

"So I'm hoping to keep this more of a local group where somebody can share if they've spotted a certain Pokemon by the Town Hall or leisure centre or wherever and use it to organise meet-ups among users."

But widespread concerns have been raised of the dangers of people being unaware of their surroundings as they concentrate on catching new Pokemon.

Police have warned gamers using the app in a public place to stay alert to what is going on around them and to avoid potentially dangerous locations that could make people more vulnerable to injury or becoming a victim of crime.