Vacuum-obsessed tot has a Henry themed-birthday

Zion Bartley became fixated with vacuums when he was six months old and would try to steal his mum Fern Smith's when she cleaned the house. And when the toddler discovered the friendly-faced Henry at his grandma's house, his fascination with the household appliance grew. Now the tot knows how to unpack the hoover and plug it in - meaning his mum has a 'little helper' when doing the cleaning. Footage shows Zion as a baby sat using the vacuum to hoover around him despite being too young to even walk properly.

So to celebrate turning three on January 2, Fern threw her son a hoover-themed party decorated with Henry merchandise. Heartwarming photos show Zion dressed in vacuum-themed clothes sat next to his lifelike Henry hoover cake. Fern said she made the cake and biscuits herself and then scoured Vinted for themed decorations to use on the big day. The 27-year-old said she even had to ask her mum to bring her Henry vacuum cleaner to the party as a special guest of honour.

Fern, from Bicester in Oxfordshire, said: “It started when he was six months old. He would try to take the hoover off me when I was using it or put it in my hand to tell me to keep hoovering. It then evolved when we would visit my mum's house as she had a Henry.

“Then when we would visit Curry's and see Henry, he would become obsessed. We would have to watch unboxing videos of Henry on YouTube. There are also cartoon Henry videos that we watch too. When he got older, he would know how to undo the hoover, where to plug it and how to turn it on so he could do it himself.

“I think it's the friendly face. He likes any of the Henry family. On his birthday, he walked down the stairs and said, ‘oh my gosh, this is beautiful’. He really loved it. Whenever we go to my mum's the first thing he'll ask is where's Henry - like he's a person. My mum actually had to bring her Henry to the party for him. It was like a guest of honour.”

For his birthday, Zion received his own sit-on Henry and toy cleaning trolley to add to his collection. After sharing photos of Zion's big day on TikTok, the video was viewed by one million people and received more than 160,000 likes.

Fern said: “He has the toys and all the teddies. He has hoover clothes and a toy hoover. He's got around 15 or 20 hoover items. I stalk Vinted all the time for Henry merch. I just couldn't believe how much the video blew up on TikTok.”

Users were quick to say how 'cute' Zion's party was and the official Henry vacuum cleaner TikTok page even wished him a happy birthday. One user said: “Love this. You're the best mum ever!” Another added: “Your kid is an absolute icon.” A third commented: “This is so cute. I love how happy he looks. You're great.”