The mother of the former Mount Pleasant Lane school pupil who hugged Andy Murray after his Olympic gold win said that things have been “crazy” ever since as he has become a little star in his own right.

Henry Woods Caplan, 11, of Abbots Langley, was at the Olympic men’s tennis final on Sunday, August 5, with his father and brothers when he decided to make a daring dash to hug his hero Murray.

Victoria Woods, Henry’s mum, said that on top of being interviewed by various national papers, her son has also been on TV show Daybreak and Channel 5 News speaking about his tender moment with the tennis star.

She said she didn’t initially know about Henry’s surprise appearance on television as she wasn’t watching the tennis: “A friend of mine texted me and sent a photo to my BlackBerry.”

Henry managed to run across to the players’ box at the end of the match to get a glimpse of the Scottish tennis champion, but then went the extra step and asked him for a hug.

“I couldn’t believe it when I saw him,” Victoria said. “I was amazed how he managed to get into the Royal Box!”

When his mum asked him what made him do it, he replied quite simply: “I just wanted to get down there and give him a hug.”

“He asked Andy Murray ‘Can I have a hug?’, to which he replied ‘Anything for a fan’.”

Regarding Henry’s bold move to reach out to Murray and ask for a hug she said: “That’s just him; he’s very supportive of all sport, and very warm and cuddly.”

She added that as well as proving to be incredibly exciting for her son, she feels the pair’s embrace has shown the nation that there’s a softer side to tennis star Andy.

Henry is due to attend Parmiter’s School in Garston this September.