HE waited four years and then all '18-year-old' John Wheeler's birthdays came at once.

Leap year baby Mr Wheeler – true age 72 – was gobsmacked when almost 50,000 strangers celebrated his big day after a story in the Oxford Mail went viral on the internet.

The retired driving instructor and police inspector from Kidlington said: "I have never had anything like this.

"My birthdays have been fairly private apart from when I was eight and my teacher made everyone sing 'happy birthday'.

"I never expected all this. I wish my mother was alive to see. She was a midwife and I often wonder whether she somehow withheld my birth or sped it up."

Mr Wheeler's birthday story attracted 49,000 Facebook likes and 5,785 shares.

Comments included: "You don't look a day over 18" and "so, when you taught me to drive you were too young to be driving yourself".

The father-of-four's daughter, Claire Bowden, commented: "Thank you for all making my dad's day special – he is a teenager at heart."

Mr Wheeler celebrated the day in style with a London Thames cruise with his wife Sue.

Also celebrating the extra leap year day, which is added to the calendar every fourth year, was Greater Leys couple Cat Hall and Howling Wolfman – aka Wolfy – who got engaged.

They met at Oxford's O'Hanlon House homeless shelter – Ms Hall a volunteer and Mr Wolfman a visitor.

The pair will tie the knot after Miss Hall simply said 'Well?' to her husband-to-be, who had changed his name by deed poll.

Another group celebrating was 90 people at the development office at University of Oxford, who spent the extra day on city projects, including planting at Harcourt Arboretum, dusting skeletons at Natural History Museum and helping Oxfam.

Campaign communication officer Sarah Pakes said: "Everyone was really excited and keen to go out to help these projects."