A 57-year-old Chinese farmer claims to have spent over two years riding his rickshaw nearly 40,000 miles through 16 countries to reach London in time for the Olympic Games.

Watching London Mayor Boris Johnson accept the Olympic flag during the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he was inspired to make the journey to the London 2012 Olympics.

He left his home in Jiangsu province in eastern China on 23 May 2010 and arrived in London on 9 July 2012.

When John Beeston from Norwood Green, Southall discovered Chen on Lower Regent Street, London he was "lost and downhearted".

Mr Beeston who runs an insurance brokers and travels to China on business at least once a year was able to cheer him up by speaking in Mandarin.

The direct distance from Beijing to London is approximately 5,000 miles.