A window cleaner who removed racist graffiti from a Chinese takeaway free of charge has said it was a “real honour” to be thanked by the prime minister.

Isaac Davidson was among members of the public and community figures invited to Downing Street, where Sir Keir Starmer hosted a St George’s Day reception.

The invite was in recognition of Davidson’s efforts in volunteering to clean the graffiti which had been painted on the outside of Dragon House on Foxwood Lane in York, leaving the owner “heartbroken”.

The 31-year-old, from Foxwood, said: “When the prime minister thanked me, it felt quite overwhelming. I hadn’t done it for recognition, so to be acknowledged like that was a real honour.”