Bez, real name Mark Berry, visited Picklescott, near Church Stretton, to see the Karuna project, where the Wheelhouse family has transformed 18 acres of land into an eco-camp, including a house built from straw.

But while Janta and Merav Wheelhouse were delighted to welcome the star, they admitted that as they don't have a TV set they didn't actually know who he was when he first visited three months ago.

Bez, who won Celebrity Big Brother in 2005 and is standing as an independent candidate for Salford in next year's General Election, visited the camp recently with a TV film crew from Channel 4 for an up-coming episode of 24 Hour Party Politics, a series following his political progress.

Janta said: "It was nice to meet the guy, but we don't have a TV here and I didn't even know who he was at the time. It wasn't until he got here that I asked him."

For details or to show support for the Karuna project, visit www.karuna.org.uk or the Karuna Insight Design page on Facebook.