THRILLED schoolchildren had an unexpected visitor from a galaxy far, far away as they celebrated the start of their Christmas holidays.

Star Wars fanatic Christopher Smith turned up in full Stormtrooper gear to pick up his son, Finley, from St Bede’s Primary in Morris Green on Tuesday and posed for pictures with his classmates and teachers.

The 43-year-old turned plenty of heads with his costume, which he changed into at the nearby Village Barbers, and was delighted with the chance to show off his immaculate Imperial armour to hundreds of excited youngsters on a tour of the school.

Mr Smith, of Hulton Lane, said: “Last year I said to Finley that I was going to pick him up from school in my armour, but he didn’t want me to.

“But this year he asked me if I would do it, and I was really pleased.

“I went down to the barbers and got changed there before heading down to the school.

“When I got there, the caretaker came out to meet me and didn’t really know what to say.

“And there was even one woman I passed who thought I was The Stig, but I just went along with it.

“I went round a few of the classrooms and the looks on all of the kids’ faces were amazing.

“They were absolutely gobsmacked. They really didn’t know what was going on and then they were all swarming around me wanting to have photos taken.”

Mr Smith, who also has a daughter, 14-year-old Olivia, is a regular sight at the Cineworld cinema in Astley Bridge, where he has been enlisted to promote the newest Star Wars films.

As a lifelong fan, he has been keen to share his love of the space-faring saga with the public and his family.

He added: “I have had the armour for around 18 months now and it is really good quality, as close to the original costumes from the film as you will see.

“I have been down to Cineworld to help promote The Force Awakens last year and now Rogue One.

“The buzz around Star Wars is just getting bigger and bigger now that they are going to be doing a new film every year.

“I just love seeing people’s faces when they spot you in the armour, it is so much fun.

“The costume was quite expensive, it cost me around £1,500, but it is great fun and doing things like this makes it all worthwhile.”

Mr Smith has already seen the critically-acclaimed latest instalment in the Star Wars saga, released earlier this month, twice at the cinema and it proved a big hit with all the family.

He said: “I was in my armour at the midnight screening of Rogue One when it opened, but I was absolutely knackered about half way through so I definitely needed a second viewing to really appreciate it.

“So, a couple of days later we all went to see it as a family and we loved it.”