A sitcom superfan has spoken of his delight after his screen hero autographed his arm - and he turned it into a tattoo.

Nathan Scotford is such a huge fan of the long-running BBC hit Only Fools and Horses that he even renamed his Folkestone barbershop Cushty Cuts in honour of one of Del Boy's famous catchphrases.

The 40-year-old barber, who fell in love with the tales of ducking and diving on the streets of Peckham after being introduced to the show by his late grandfather, attended a convention celebrating the programme's 40th anniversary and it was there that he had actor Sir David Jason sign his left forearm.

"It's a British institution and David Jason is a national treasure," he said.

"Over the weekend I asked a couple of questions, and right at the last knockings his wife Gill came over to me and said 'what you ask, we'll do'.

"So basically he signed my arm, and I had it tattooed the next day. I've got something I can have as a keepsake forever.

"Even my 15-year-old daughter - who isn't keen on Only Fools and Horses said 'that's sick, that's cushty Dad'. I love it, I absolutely love it."

Mr Scotford's shop on Bouverie Road West is part barbershop, part museum of the much-loved sitcom - with memorabilia covering every available space.

To the rear of the cutting room there is even a bar, just like the one famously occupying the living room of the Trotters' flat in Nelson Mandela House, but his plans do not stop there.

"I want to turn the downstairs into a mini Nag's Head," he explained. "Because I also have a karaoke business called He Who Dares Sings."

After the barbershop was forced to close during the pandemic, Mr Scotford questioned whether he really wanted to carry on once restrictions lifted.

But he credits the support of his wife Jean and his colleagues at the barbershop with helping him rebrand and make the business something of a place of pilgrimage for fans of the show.

And why does he think the sitcom, which aired from 1981 until 2003, remains so popular to this day?

"It's timeless, it is absolutely timeless," he said.