PAUL Oldfield has a talent you will either love or loathe.

When he takes to the stage at Chorley Little Theatre this Saturday, he will perform a unique rendition of Swan Lake using his very own wind instrument - his backside.

You'll never hear anything like it. And quite possibly won't want to again.

Paul, from Macclesfield, who goes by the stage name of Mr Methane, is said to be the world's only performing flatulist.

Following in the footsteps of Joseph Pujol, alias Le Petomane, he performs the art of petomania.

"I once emptied a nightclub in Southend," he boasts. Mr Methane is enjoying a growing international reputation.

Immediately after my interview with him he was waiting to do another with an American radio station.

So where, how and why did it all start?

"I realised I had a talent at school. I would sneak into the squash courts and charge a small admission fee."

Paul, 30, who is 6ft 7ins tall and weighs 11 stone added: "I've been doing it professionally for about six years.

"It's not dangerous."

He said objectors were 'always in the minority: "We laugh at flatulence from the cradle to the grave - it raises a smile."

Mr Methane will be appearing at Chorley Little Theatre on Saturday (Oct 18) with Charlie Chuck, aka Uncle Peter of Reeves and Mortimer fame.

Tickets are available from Adrian Crook, Townsend Records, Market Street, Chorley, priced £6.

He warns: "Don't come if you are going to be offended. Only come if you are a fan."

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