Ghostbusters star Ernie Hudson praises Suffolk superfans for charity work

Ghostbusters' original stars Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Bill Murray were reunited last month at a New York premiere of the film franchise's newest offering

A man who has raised money for charity through his love of a cult movie said he's been "blown away" by receiving a message from his Ghostbusters hero.

Actor Ernie Hudson, who played Winston Zeddemore in the 1984 film, praised the Suffolk Ghostbusters group for "making a difference" in his video message.

Daniel Newman set up the group with two friends and started doing videos for youngsters in the lockdown.

He said: "To hear from one of the original Ghostbusters, it's fantastic."

The superfan, from Ipswich, together with friends Shaun Howard and Nick Mabbett, set up the group dedicated to the franchise after realising there were no others in the county.

During lockdown they started sending personalised videos to children celebrating their birthdays and the demand spiralled.

Suffolk Ghostbuster Daniel Newman said it was "brilliant" to receive a message from one of his childhood heroes

"It went from two or three videos a day to 200-300 a week," said Mr Newman.

"We realised it wasn't just kids who loved it, but adults too.

"We transformed that into something for good and asked that anyone who wanted a video to make a donation to [charity]."

Ernie Hudson praised the Suffolk Ghostbusters for their "amazing" charity work for the community

Mr Newman said someone had let the actor know about the Suffolk Ghostbusters' work last week and the group quickly received a personalised video in an echo of their own good deeds.

In the festive message, Hudson wishes them "happy holidays".

"I know you guys have been out there doing some amazing work, a lot of charity work," said Hudson, dressed in his named Ghostbusters jumpsuit.

"Congratulations on all the amazing stuff you do.

"Thank you for being truly, truly incredible... and keep on bustin'."

Bustin' made generations of fans feel good

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters

• The cult classic was released in 1984

• It starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Harold Ramis and Sigourney Weaver

• The comedy unravels when three academics get kicked out of a university and set up their own business investigating New York's ghostly goings-on

• The film took about US$282m when it was first released

• The Ghostbusters theme by Ray Parker Jnr matched the success of the film and was a worldwide hit

• The franchise has spawned a number of sequels including Ghostbusters: Afterlife which premiered in New York in November

• Many of the film's props including the proton packs to tackle paranormal activity and the Ectomobile car, a 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor known as Ecto-1, won a place in fans' hearts

Mr Newman said he was "incredibly surprised" to be "recognised specifically" and has been watching the message on repeat.

"The smile hasn't left my face since it arrived," he said.

"Ernie Hudson is probably one of the most appreciative actors in that 1984 line-up - he does a lot to recognise the fans and appreciate what they do.

"It's comical to hear him try to pronounce our good county of Suffolk, but it's really, really good to hear him talk about the Suffolk Ghostbusters."