AN AMAZING little boy had the surprise of his life when an Only Fools and Horses legend rocked up for lunch.

John Challis - best known for playing the role of Boycie in the hit-BBC comedy - spent the afternoon with Noah Wall, praising the boy’s spirit and sense of humour.

He stopped off at the family home of seven-year-old Noah, who lives near Wigton.

Noah shot into the limelight in August 2014, when hit-BBC show DIY SOS came to the rescue of the family. The cold, unfinished house was transformed by Nick Knowles and his team, who made the home more workable for the family.

Noah was born with only two per cent of his brain, but thankfully it has since grown to 80 per cent. He also suffers from spina bifida, which means he is paralysed from the chest down and requires the use of a wheelchair.

John Challis, who has been following Noah’s journey for several years, said: “I heard about Noah and after seeing all the stuff about him and I wanted to do something about it. A lot of people in my line of work raise awareness and money to help Noah, but it became quite a big thing for me.

“I have been part of it ever since. I have seen him two or three times now.

“We were up relatively near where he lives and we went over to the house. We saw the television programme which worked on his house and what a fantastic job they made of it.”

It was a great surprise for Noah.

“Noah is a great Boycie fan and Only Fools and Horses fan,” explained John

“He has some favourite phrases, but when they tried to get him to do them he was quite shy. I did an an appearance on Sootie and Sweep and he loves that, so I took him Sootie and Sweep toys.

“He has such spirit, such a funny boy. It is such a miracle to get to where he is. He has such a special future.”

It was not just Noah that enjoyed the day.

“It was nice to have a conversation with him, take some pictures and it definitely made him happy. I was personally affected by the story, the story of the desperation and so I picked up on it.

“There are an awful lot of kids in an awful state - an awful lot of cases. In my case I get asked to do an awful lot, but I can’t do everything.”

John is involved with numerous causes that are close to his heart, including being a patron of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and has heavily supported the Alzheimer’s Society.

Noah’s mum Shelly, who raises awareness about spina bifida, said: “It was amazing to welcome him in. We were saying this is the man from TV. He is such a lovely man.”

To follow Noah, his Instagram is @hugsforNoah.