Smokin' Smith the Pyro Pensioner

By Linda Serck
BBC Berkshire reporter

Charles Smith is originally from Castleford in West Yorkshire

A 73-year-old parish councillor from Twyford has reignited a childhood passion to become Smokin' Smith the Pyrotechnic Pensioner.

Grandfather Charles Smith embarked on his new career as a fire-eater after spotting an ad in an events magazine.

"I remember as a small boy seeing a man standing on a platform breathing fire. I thought to myself 'that's really something'," says Mr Smith.

Smokin' Smith now has a 20-minute act that takes him all around the country.

Mr Smith, formerly a printer, spotted the magazine advert for a fire-eating course in Highclere, near Newbury, from an instructor who teaches only 24 people every two years.

"When I saw it at the back of this magazine I thought 'I've got to have a go at this to see what it's about'," he says.

After successfully completing the course Mr Smith can now blow a nine-foot jet of flame into the air.

Charles Smith is a 73-year-old parish councillor in Twyford

"It's seeing people's faces when you do it," he says of his attraction to fire-eating. "They're just standing there totally spell-bound."

The added element of a silver-haired pensioner performing such a daring feat adds to the act.

"When I announce myself as Smokin' Smith the Pyrotechnic Pensioner there are one or two laughs," he says.

Despite the amount of fun Mr Smith has, fire-eating is not for everybody to enjoy.

"It's extremely dangerous," he warns. "There is a lot of noise and a lot of heat that comes off the flame.

"Also, you don't see how far it goes because you're standing directly behind it, your main concentration is on watching the flame come back down the jet towards your mouth.

"Once it gets about four inches away you then shut your mouth so that it doesn't get inside, because if it does - that's it. You're sunk."

Charles Smith travels the country with his 20-minute fire-eating act

He adds that there is no such thing as a 'cold flame' when it comes to his art.

Mr Smith has suffered burnt lips in the past when he did not close his mouth on time.

"They blew up a bit as though I'd had Botox," he says.

He adds: "You do occasionally get blisters in your mouth, you're bound to.

"Working outside, the wind changes the direction of the flame so you've got to watch for that all the time."

And would he recommend fire-eating to anyone?

"Not really," he says, smiling. "Not unless you've got a mad streak in you."