Childs last played in the Wimbledon singles in 2004

The British number nine, who had been expecting a day off, had his match with Italy's Marco Crugnola brought forward a day and won 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-4.

"I feel so pleased. Wimbledon means a lot to me," said Childs, who will make his fourth singles appearance at SW19.

Britain's two surviving women, Sarah Borwell and Anna Fitzpatrick, were both defeated in straight sets.

Borwell lost her second round match to top seed Agnes Szavay 6-4 6-4, while Fitzpatrick was beaten 6-1 6-2 by Mathilde Johansson.

Childs added: "I'll now go up in the rankings and I'm feeling good about my game. It's make or break time now."

He will take his place in the main draw, which is made at 1000 BST on Friday.

Childs' best performance at Wimbledon came four years ago when he lost to Rafael Nadal in the second round.

Paul Hutchins, recently installed as director of men's tennis at the Lawn Tennis Association, said Childs had earned his reward for his effort.

"Lee has worked harder than anyone else at the National Tennis Centre since it opened in February," he said.