Bob first reached number one last Sunday

He admitted he "leapt for joy" when he heard the news. "I have always wanted to have a hit record and this is fantastic news.

"I heard the news on the radio. To be quite honest, I would have been happy just to get a record in the top 20. But to reach number one is just amazing. It is like a dream come true."

Mr Joyce, 43, played in Sense, an 80s band which supported Depeche Mode and Kim Wilde, but they never secured a recording contract. Bob the Builder is his first hit record.

Bob's song, voiced by actor Neil Morrissey, had sold almost 600,000 copies by Friday.

The year's biggest seller so far, All Saint's Pure Shores, has sold 685,000 copies.

Bob beat Eminen to the number one slot

More than 50,000 copies of Bob's single, which reached number one last week, are being sold every day.

Gennaro Castaldo, of HMV music stores, said: "It's interesting that no single has actually sold over a million this year which underlines that sales aren't as big for singles as last year.

"On the other hand it's been a phenomenal year for albums, with 10 now going over the million mark in 2000."

Bob also surprised the bookmakers. William Hill put Westlife just nosing ahead with odds of 4/6 and Bob at 11/10.