SEVEN year-old Harvey Hopkin from Wisbech enjoyed a special Christmas-themed tea party at No 11 Downing Street hosted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

Harvey, who suffers from a serious medical condition called Addison’s Disease, was one of 40 seriously ill children to be invited with his mum Karen by Starlight, which grants wishes and provides entertainment in hospitals and hospices for sick children.

The Chancellor welcomed the children and their families to Downing Street and wished them a Happy Christmas, before encouraging them to tuck in to the magnificent afternoon tea provided.

Swapping his TARDIS to a more traditional form of transport, celebrity guest and Starlight ambassador Matt Smith delighted Harvey and the other young guests by joining them to meet reindeer on one of the most famous roads in the country.

Inside, former Spice girl Geri Halliwell and CBBC presenter Gemma Hunt helped some of the children paint reindeer moulds and decorate the Starlight wishing tree, while Santa gave each child an early Christmas present and listened to their Christmas wishes.

George Osborne said “It is extremely humbling for me and my staff to hear some of the children’s stories and we hope that by coming along to our Christmas party we have helped them forget their illnesses for an hour or two and simply have a bit of fun.”

The party was part of Starlight’s Christmas of Happiness, which will see the charity bring festive entertainment and magical wishes to the thousands of children that will spend time in hospitals and hospices this Christmas.

To find out more about the Starlight Christmas of Happiness, go online at www.starlight.org.uk/events/starlight-christmas-of-happiness/.

To make a donation, please text WISH to 70123 to donate �3 to Starlight or to refer a child or to make an online donation go to www.starlight.org.uk. For every �1 you donate over 91p goes towards helping Starlight’s very ill children.