A schoolboy who is desperate to make friends has been inundated with thousands of birthday messages from across the world - including from A-list celebs.
Daniel Harrison was sent scores of kind messages from strangers on his 15th birthday on Wednesday (September 29) after his father Kevin Harrison posted a heartfelt plea on Twitter.
Mr Harrison, who lives in Arnold, said online that his son, who is autistic, "hasn't one friend" and that one of his birthday wishes was to "make friends".
He also shared an image in which his son had written down two things that are important to him: "drive a car" and "make friends".
Heartbroken at his son’s answer, Mr Harrison turned to social media to request birthday messages on the teen's special day.
He was blown away when he received thousands of replies from people from across the world - including sci-fi actors Mark Hamill and William Shatner.
The original post received almost 110,000 likes and more than 45,000 comments from followers all across the globe.
Star Trek star Shatner wrote: “Daniel has more friends and admirers than he thinks! Happy birthday Daniel!!!"
And Hamill, who the young man idolises, wrote “For my friend Daniel” and attached a gif of his character Luke Skywalker, which read: "The force is strong with this one."
Gladiator actor Russell Crowe wrote: “Happy birthday Daniel.”
Thousands of other Twitter users from across the globe -including some from Melbourne, Australia and Alberta, Canada - also left kind messages.
One Twitter user from Florida wrote: “Happy birthday Daniel!! I am autistic too, just like you. When you are different, it can feel very lonely.
"Just remember, even when you feel alone, there are always people out there who are different in the same ways that you are different.”
Mr Harrison sent a thank you on Twitter after being overwhelmed by the incredible response.
He said: “I have woken up this morning touched by humanity. You all won’t know how much he suffered as a child.”
