lfruen@thekmgroup.co.uk

A Star Trek fan from Faversham is so dedicated to the sci-fi show he convinced his wife to name their 15-week-old son after his favourite character.

Michael Wakeman, who lives in Church Street, Faversham, is an avid Trekkie whose favourite character, Kirk – full name James Tiberius Kirk – inspired the name for his third child.

Little Wilfred Michael Tiberius Wakeman joins the family-of-four after his mum surprised dad Michael with a treat of the Trekkie kind.

Hayley Wakeman, 35, said: "My husband is a big Star Trek fan, he’s a massive Trekkie geek.

"He turns 39 this year and has loved it since he was a child.

"When I was pregnant he kept asking that we call our son Tiberius after his favourite character, Kirk, and I kept saying that there was no chance.

"I obviously wasn’t going to call the poor child that, and our other children, Toby and Annabel, objected too.

"But Mike was so fantastic during and after the pregnancy.

"I have a severe pelvic condition which I developed when I was pregnant with Wilf and ended up in a wheelchair very early in the pregnancy.

"He was so supportive that when I went to register Wilf, I didn’t tell Mike I was adding the Tiberius.

"When I emailed him a photo of the birth certificate it was the first he knew about it. That email was forwarded to his friends in about four seconds, I believe, with the simple message 'Yes’.

"None of his friends had managed to persuade their wives to call their kids after any Star Trek or Star Wars characters."

Dad Michael was thrilled with the surprise name. He said: "I had no idea Tiberius was Wilf’s middle name until immediately after Hayley had registered him and I received an email with a photo of his birth certificate.

"Wilfred was after Wilfred Owen as the pregnancy and birth were a bit like the Battle of the Somme, and Michael was after me, of course, but it was a great surprise to me for him to be named after the great James T. Kirk."

But there was another name check yet to come for the Star Trek captain... and his baby namesake.

When The Phoenix Tavern in Court Street, Faversham, offered customers the chance to name their own beer, the Wakemans seized the chance.

Hayley said: "When landlord David told us we could name a beer for the christening, well, it simply had to be Tiberius Ale, didn’t it?

"It was exciting to see the name on the pump. "The barrel had gone within four hours. Even the vicar had a pint of Tiberius."

Landlord David Selves said: "It turns out that Mike is a real Trekkie, and he and his wife Hayley asked if they could book a family party with us.

"So for the party the Westerham Brewery supplied us with a beer, which we named Tiberius Ale. I suppose it makes it more fun than saying I’ll have my usual please!"