Stormzy and other celebrities tweet bullied school boy

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Celebrities mark bullied boy's birthday

A host of celebrities, including British grime and hip hop artist Stormzy, have sent birthday greetings to a young boy who is being bullied.

Chris Hope-Smith, from Leeds, posted on Twitter, external asking if people could send positive messages to his son, Ollie.

He wrote: "The bully keeps saying to him that everything O has, he has bigger/better/more often.

"I would love someone to tell him he does mean something and bullying is not ok, ever."

Ollie will celebrate his ninth birthday on 5 July.

More on this story and others from Yorkshire

Responding to the appeal, Stormzy wrote: "Happy birthday Ollie! You're a lil legend. ❤️⭐️🎉Don't watch the bullies they always end up being the biggest wastemen later in life."

Image source, PA
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Stormzy was one of the celebrities to respond to the appeal

Others included TV presenter Jake Humphrey, who recorded a video, external where he told Ollie to "ignore the haters", adding "we've all been there".

Simpsons character designer Eric Keyes, external sent a message to Ollie along with a personalised drawing of Bart Simpson.

Mr Keyes tweeted: "Happy Birthday Ollie from a guy on @TheSimpsons who's not quite famous but draws a kid who is =) I hope you have an AWESOME day!"

Other famous names who sent well-wishes to the schoolboy included:

Many people offered to send Ollie gifts or free tickets for events.

Broadcaster Sara Cox, external also posted a video message to him.

Image source, Twitter
Image caption,

Sara Cox posted a video message to Ollie

Writing on her husband's twitter account, Ollie's mother Natalie Hope-Smith said: "I am completely overwhelmed by everyone's kind thoughts.

"You do not know what this means to me and will to Ollie when we show him. I have been battling with this matter for over a year and am only just now being listened to.

"It is heartbreaking listening to an 8 year old think that he is worthless and 'shouldn't be here'.

"I know that we are definitely not the only ones going through this but I just want to say, from the bottom of my heart, 'Thank You' so much. You really don't know what this means. Natalie xx"

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As well as celebrities, the appeal also attracted a lot of interest from the general public, who all offered messages of support.

Responding to the posts, Mr Hope-Smith said: "I am completely overwhelmed by everyone's kind thoughts.

"You do not know what this means to me and will to Ollie when we show him."

Image source, Julia Bryson