A LITTLE boy with a terminal heart condition had his dream come true when he became a policeman for the day.

Danny Herbert was born with a rare defect which means blood from one side of his heart is unable to travel to his lungs to collect oxygen before being pumped around the body.

But the seven-year-old is determined not to let his condition get in the way of his plans.

His family, from Bognor, got in touch with the charity Make A Wish, which arranged a day with Sussex Police.

Chief Inspector Marc Clothier, who runs the force’s Arun district, said: “When I was contacted about Danny I was really keen to make his dream of becoming a police officer a reality.

“The support and enthusiasm shown by colleagues across the force was amazing and we all really tried to make the day as special as possible.

“Danny had the opportunity to join one of the roads policing units and undertook speed checks in Bognor.

“We knew Danny had always wanted to hold a speed gun so it was fantastic for us to allow this to happen.”

Danny was joined by his sister Sky, six, and his mother Fran for the special day.

They were initially taken to Chichester police station, where Danny “arrested” a suspicious man.

The criminal had been spotted “drawing” on police cars.

The youngster booked the suspect into custody and escorted him into the cells.

The new recruit then gave the criminal a stern telling off.

Afterwards the family were taken to Sussex Police headquarters in Lewes.

There they met two firearms officers, the force’s dog unit and Chief Constable Giles York.

Fran said: “It was such a fantastic day for Danny and he truly loved every minute of it.

“Danny has always been interested in the emergency services.

“He was lucky enough to meet a fireman and this was set up by Tyler’s Trust.

“He has all of the uniforms at home and will often dress up in them for role-play.

“Danny loved being able to hold the speed gun.

“He was in awe of everyone he met on the day.”