Toddler Harry Simmons met TV star Ulrika Jonsson when she visited him in hospital while he recovered from a major operation.

Ulrika was promoting the work done to provide accommodation for worried parents whose children have to stay in hospital.

Harry's parents Karen Kingswood and her partner David Simmons, from Southwater, have been staying at a Ronald McDonald House at Guy's Hospital in London.

Harry, two, is recovering from a kidney transplant for which his father was the donor.

Ronald McDonald houses help thousands of sick children and their families every year by providing family rooms free of charge.

The charity has houses in Brighton, Glasgow, Liverpool, Bristol and two in London as well as rooms in several towns and cities in the UK.

Miss Kingswood said: "Being able to stay right next door to Harry while he was in hospital has been wonderful, not only for myself as his mother but for the family as a whole.

"Having a child in hospital is an enormously stressful experience and the care and support we have received from Guy's and the staff at the house has really helped to make the best out of a really awful situation.

"If it were not for the house, David and I would have had the added stress of daily train journeys and finding child care for our other children."

Elizabeth Gibson, from the Ronald McDonald House, said: "Having families close together at this time can greatly assist a child's recovery.

"In addition, the home-away-from-home accommodation enables families to rest in privacy or benefit from the experiences and company of other families."

Ronald McDonald Children's Charities is planning to raise enough money to provide an extra 40,000 bed nights across the UK by the end of the year.

This will make a total of 200,000 opportunities for parents and other family members to stay with sick children in hospital.

Since the charity was established in 1989 more than £7 million has been donated for the houses and family rooms.