Speaking from his sports shop in Sussex, Nicholas Wisdom said the family were obviously disappointed by reports in the UK press which claim there is a bitter rift between the star's friends and family with restrictions on who can visit him.

Sir Norman has lived in the Island for the best part of 27 years and about a month ago moved from his house in Andreas to Abbotswood Nursing Home in Ballasalla.

'He needs a settling in period,' Nicholas said. 'He needs to get into a routine at Abbotswood and for the time being we have decided that he shouldn't have visitors, apart from family, just to try and wean him of Ballalaugh where he lived.'

Nicholas spoke to his father on Sunday and said he was settling in well.

He said the situation had been blown out of proportion and some of the things reported in the UK press were ridiculous.

'It doesn't make any sense at all. The home has been looking after him beautifully,' Nicholas said.

'The most important person in all of this is my father.'

Sir Norman, 92, has a vascular dementia of an Alzheimer's type. Before he moved into the home daughter-in-law Kim looked after him. Kim and

Sir Norman's daughter Jacqueline looked at three or four homes before they chose Abbotswood.

Nicholas said it wasn't a case of there being 'an exclusion zone' around the comic legend and urged his father's friends who were eager to visit to 'hang fire'.

'Let him settle in and adapt into his routine and the routine that the home wants him to get in and that's fine. He had one visitor and it stirred him up badly. The night after this person left he had his bag packed ready to go home.'