LEGENDARY Bolton sword-swallower, fire-eater and entertainer The Great Stromboli ­has died aged 92.

Daniel 'Danny' Lynch, of Ringley Road, Stoneclough, better known by his stage name, aptly taken from an Italian volcano, delighted and amazed audiences around the world with his post-war cabaret show.

He died at the Royal Bolton Hospital on April 9 just five weeks after the loss of his wife Silvia nee Wilde, aged 87, who performed alongside him.

The Bolton News:

During the 1950s and 60s, Mr and Mrs Lynch toured the globe with their variety show, even performing for royalty.

Their sideshow also regularly appeared at Belle Vue in Manchester, where the show climaxed as Mr Lynch was strapped into a replica of the electric chair at Sing Sing prison in New York for his famous electric act.

Other such high-voltage antics saw Mr Lynch light bulbs by conducting electricity with his body.

In the 1980s he held the world record for blowing flames from his mouth with the aid of a whisky glass of "fuel".

His Guinness record best was 136, however he reportedly beat this with a feat of 214 flames but it was not acknowledged as judges said it would be too dangerous for anyone else to attempt.

While making this record breaking attempt he blacked out and lost count.

The Bolton News:

In his later years Mr Lynch was well known for his love of story telling and magic shows.

He also starred in the 1980 film The Elephant Man, appearing as a fire-eater, and gained further credits for films The Bride and Princess Caraboo.

Beyond the stage he was renowned for his love of all things unusual, and throughout his life amassed a collection of weird and wonderful oddities he picked up on his travels.

There compiled in his "horror cellar" some of the curiosities included shrunken heads, a two-headed calf, a devil fish, a mammoth's jaw, a giant 400-year-old Elephant Bird egg and replicas of the Crown Jewels.

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Over the decades Mr Lynch and his collection kept the Ripley's museum in Blackpool well stocked with amazing sideshows.

Prior to his career in entertainment, Mr Lynch had a distinguished career in the military, and was presented with a prestigious medal for his wartime heroics.

He served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, after joining at aged 15.

In 1942 he sailed on a destroyer from Scotland to Murmansk in the USSR to defend the Arctic convoys of merchant ships resupplying the Soviets.

Over the treacherous three-day voyage, the ship came under enemy fire from German ships, but Mr Lynch and his comrades risked their lives and repelled the attack to escort the convoy to its destination.

Later in the conflict he also served in Malta, France and was despatched to Singapore and then Japan.

It was during this period that he first tried his hand a fire-eating and sword-swollowing, planting the seed of a fascination which would have remarkable effects on the rest of his life.

After the war, Mr Lynch served in the Merchant Service in Australia and later returned to his home and sold life insurance in Manchester, before his own life took a dramatic twist and he became a performer.

In 2017 he received an Ushakov Medal from the Russian government for his role in the defence of the USSR.

Mr and Mrs Lynch had no children, but are survived by a great number of nieces and nephews.

The couple were both long-serving members of the church and local community.

Mr Lynch's funeral is due to be held at 10am on April 26 at St John Fisher Presbytery in Manchester Road, Kearsley.