DAVID Lumby ran the Tokyo Marathon dressed in Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean outfit in tribute to the global superstar he came to know in real life.

David, 37, who hails from Hoole, aims to run a marathon in every continent and had previously completed races in New York and London, where he now lives.

This time he put a twist on proceedings by dressing up as the King of Pop – complete with Jackson’s trademark sequined glove – in homage to the man whose Neverland home he visited on three occasions.

And the former Upton High School pupil, who has a two-and-half-year-old daughter, Holly, aims to raise £1,000 for Save the Children after completing the 26-mile course last month.

A primary school teacher and jobbing actor, David has been a Michael Jackson fan since seeing him in concert at Aintree as a teenager.

He said: “I wanted to see him as many times as I could and I thought I’d love to meet him. Well, I made the dream happen in a way and I got to meet him lots of times.”

David’s first close encounter with Jackson was at London’s Dorchester Hotel and, while all the other fans stayed outside, he walked boldly into the lobby and shook his hand.

Later he studied in Los Angeles, where the pop star lived, and visited his Neverland home.

“He invited me in,” said David, whose acting roles have included playing a Boggart in Harry Potter. “It was amazing. Neverland is bigger than Chester city centre.

“I saw all the animals, I had his albino boa constrictor Madonna around my neck.”

Recalling the pop legend, he added: “I talked to the most famous man on planet Earth and he was so humble and so nice and so generous.”

When Jackson fell out with his record company his fans showed solidarity by holding a demonstration in London, which was when David arranged for him to greet them from an open-top double-decker bus and was invited aboard.

David was devastated when Jackson died aged 50 in 2009 and was among a select group of European fans to attend his funeral.

Looking to the future, the doting dad is excited about his final two marathons, although next time his centre of attention will be a VIP closer to home.

“I want to do one in Sydney – that will be Australasia – and then one in Africa and I’d love Holly to be there,” he said.

To support David’s fundraising, visit www.justgiving.com/david-lumby.