The man with the famous red book paid a visit to Heslington, York, to make 80-year-old street sweeper Fred Stewart a VIP.

Fred caught the eyes of the producers of long-running TV show, This Is Your Life, when he was awarded the MBE in the recent Queen's Birthday Honours for services to village life over the last 15 years.

Over the last two weeks, secret preparations for the programme's visit had been going on at Heslington.

But by all accounts, Fred, stayed as cool as a cucumber when presenter Michael Aspel sprang his surprise.

"He was really laid back about it," said one villager.

Heslington had been sworn to secrecy for nearly a fortnight by TV programme's producers, so not a word had reached Fred.

The Rowntree Brass Band was employed to parade through the village as a decoy, and after being presented with the red book, Fred was whisked away to the BBC studios in Manchester to film the programme with friends and family.

Fred has served as Heslington's "lengthman" for 15 years, walking a six-mile route round the village every day to keep the streets spotless.

But David Pearcy, a former chairman of the parish council who originally employed Fred and who nominated him for his MBE, explained he did far more than just sweep streets.

"He always cheers up all the people in the almshouses and has helped some of the ladies there when they've fallen. And since he's been doing the job, Heslington has won Best Kept Village once and been runner-up twice."

A spokeswoman for the producers of This Is Your Life said they had spotted Fred on the national news when he got his MBE.

"It was an interesting story and we thought he'd catch people's imaginations. We like to get a bit of variety in the show. "

Fred will feature in the new series of This Is Your Life, which will be broadcast this autumn.

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