The inventor of Bob Sponge dies at 57

Stephen Hillenberg, inventor of the famous cartoon character "Spongebob Squarepants", died at the age of 57 from severe neuropathy.

The Nickelodeon Children's Channel wrote on Twitter: "We are saddened to announce the death of Stephen Hillenburg, inventor of SpongeBob SquarePants, today we have a minute of silence to pay tribute to his life and work."

The children's channel shone in 1999, the first episode of Spongebob.

Former biology professor Hillenburg invented the yellow Spongebob figure in 1999, which quickly attracted many fans.