Brown confronted over NHS delays... by an 8-year-old visitor to Downing St

For a Prime Minister who seems to attract negative headlines, meeting a group of excited children at Downing Street must have felt like a welcome distraction.

But Gordon Brown's attempt to finally produce some positive PR backfired today when he was ambushed by an eight-year-old boy.

Little Charlie Doherty met the Prime Minister at Downing Street as a reward for being a finalist in a competition to find 'Britain's Kindest Kid'.

Charity champion Charlie explained that he had a mark on his nose after he was struck by his brother's boomerang on Wednesday.

He told Mr Brown how he had been treated at an NHS hospital near his home in Crawley, West Sussex.

But when the PM asked if it had taken a long time to be seen by casualty nurses, the youngster nonchalantly replied: 'Actually, I had to wait quite a while.'

It was a blow for a Government that has prided itself on injecting record sums of money into the Health Service in a bid to drive down waiting lists and times.

Earlier this month, Health Minister Lord Darzi spoke of how Labour had restored public confidence in the health system by wiping out waiting lists counted in the hundreds of thousands.

In an interview alongside the Prime Minister, Lord Darzi said: 'We've got rid of the numbers. We've got rid of waiting lists, we've got rid of waiting in A&E departments.

'We're talking about quality - that is where we're heading.'

Cheeky Charlie (circled) embarrassed Gordon Brown when he complained about his wait at hospital

Health Secretary Alan Johnson made the same point during a speech to the NHS Confederation's annual conference last month.

He said: 'I don't claim that we've reached Nirvana yet, but I think it's fair to say that when the service was approaching its golden anniversary in 1997, it was a very sick patient.

'They didn't wait just four hours to be seen in A&E, they sometimes waited 24 hours or more.'

Charlie was one of five youngsters who reached the final of the competition run by Five News and the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF).

They have all raised huge amounts for individual charities and good causes.

The youngster has been fund-raising since the age of four to provide children with regular meals in developing countries such as Malawi.

He has even given up his birthday present to raise funds for the charity Mary's Meals.

He has taken part in sponsored bike rides and abseils and organised his own car washes, boot sales and tombolas, raising more than £2,500 to help people around the world.

Charlie also told the Prime Minister: 'The reason I raise money is that people in other parts of the world need more things than I do.'

The charity is able to feed a child for just £30 per year. Charlie set himself the target of feeding 100 children and last year he hit that target. This year he pledges to feed 130 children.

The children will be featured on Five News all next week. Viewers will then vote by phone. The prize is £1,000 pocket money and £1,000 in Charities Aid vouchers.