Over 450 people have signed a petition calling on prime minister Gordon Brown to give a CBeebies presenter an OBE.

Justin Fletcher is the presenter of the BBC children’s programme Something Special, which teaches children sign language using the Makaton system used to teach children with learning or communication difficulties.

The petition states: “Justin Fletcher is a communication genius. He both entertains and educates our children and does this with intelligence and panache without patronising. Programmes like Something Special can only help bridge the gap that sometimes sadly appears between able and not so able bodied people in our society and help banish the unkindness that disabled people sometimes face due to ignorance.”

The petition can be found at http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Cbeebies/ and runs until September 30.