ILLUSIONIST David Blaine has worked his magic and made Tim Bingham's dream come true.

The American star, who famously spent 44 days locked in a box above London, made the 12-year-old's year by meeting up with him.

Tim suffers from an illness which has left him unable to move his limbs. It's so rare that it has been named Bingham's Syndrome.

The youngster, from Hester's Way Lane, Cheltenham, asked the Make A Wish Foundation to make his dream come true – to meet magic man David.

But the illusionist read about Tim's wish on the Echo's website, thisisgloucestershire.co.uk, and set up the meeting himself.

Despite recently undergoing major surgery to straighten his spine, Tim was determined to see his hero.

They spent two hours chatting at the Hilton Hotel at Heathrow Airport, where David treated his exclusive audience to card tricks and made sure Tim had all the food and drink he wanted.

Delighted Tim, who swapped numbers with the star and has been exchanging text messages since, said: "I was very nervous when I met him but he made me very comfortable and we had dinner together and now we're good friends. I'm looking forward to seeing him again."

Tim, who attends Arthur Dye School, also asked the charity if he could meet another of his heroes – American rapper Kanye West. On learning this, David, who is a friend of the musician, said he would see what he could do.

Tim's mum Kate said: "David was lovely. We've met a few celebrities but they're not a patch on this guy. He was chatting and laughing with us. We had a fantastic time. He made us feel very comfortable."

Tim texted his hero shortly after he left saying 'thank you for making my dreams come true'.

Kate added: "I definitely know Tim and David will keep in touch for a long time."

The star, who had jetted to London on business, initially offered to travel to Hester's Way to meet him.

But on learning how far Cheltenham was from Heathrow he asked if Tim would be able to make the journey to him so they could spend more time together.

Kate said Tim, who can only tolerate a few hours in a wheelchair after his spine surgery, had to spend most of Sunday in bed so he could cope with the drive.

She said: "I told David 'my son must love you so much to put up with all the pain'."