John Chartres is used to more technical navigational directions than taking the second star to the right and straight on till morning.

But Peter Pan and Wendy had still better watch out - this Captain Hook is a combat pilot.

John left the military ten years ago and went on to join a chorus of nuns, dress like a tramp and pretend he was the sultan of Morocco.

Now he is cavorting about in his latest pantomime role.

A qualified RAF Tornado fighter pilot, he trained with the elite 617 Squadron known as The Dambusters.

Then he swapped bombers for bloomers and is now a regular treader on the Mid Sussex boards.

Ironically, as he takes to the stage in a production of Peter Pan, John will be one of the few members of the cast who will not be airborne at some point during the show.

Tinkerbell and other members of the 86-strong cast will be hoisted above the audience's heads in a specially designed flying apparatus but John has been grounded in his role as the Hook, even though he could teach them all a thing or two about flying.

John, 43, of Horsham, said: "I'll be keeping my feet firmly on the ground while playing Captain Hook.

"But it's been highly entertaining watching the others getting - and staying - airborne."

John was a front-line, combat-ready pilot but left the RAF six months before the start of the Gulf War in 1990.

Since then, he has appeared in scores of amateur dramatics productions after developing a love for the stage.

John joined the RAF as a university graduate in 1981, just before the Falklands conflict began.

After training for six years at RAF Marham, in Norfolk, he joined the 617 Squadron before becoming specialist Tornado simulator instructor, as well as serving as his squadron's standard bearer.

In 1986, he met the Queen Mother when she presented the squadron with its new standard, a ceremony that happens once every 25 years.

His duties also brought him into contact with Air Chief Marshall Sir Arthur Harris, otherwise known as Bomber Harris.

John met the 91-year-old Second World War hero while raising money for the Bomber Command Museum in Hendon, London.

Since leaving the military, he has helped boost the chorus of singing nuns in a performance of The Sound of Music, played a tramp in Annie, and the sultan of Morocco in a production of Dick Whittington.

He said: "When I was the sultan I had a harem of women who performed the Dance of the Seven Veils for me.

"This year I'm leading a band of swarthy pirates. I'm not sure that is progress."

John, who is married with two young daughters, still takes to the air about ten times a year but it is mostly to visit business clients in the US.

He now prefers the quiet life and runs his own company in Horsham.

Peter Pan is The Weald Theatre Group's 60th Charity Pantomime and will be performed at Clair Hall, Haywards Heath, until Saturday.