Not many people can say a trip to a bookshop inspired them to become a stuntman.

But while he leafed through secondhand volumes one day almost 50 years ago, that's exactly what happened to Ronald Cunningham.

A book of tricks by the legendary escapologist Houdini fell off a shelf and landed on his foot.

Ronald, until then a directionless son of a wealthy family, picked it up and decided immediately to become a stuntman.

He said: "That moment changed my life. I sometimes think it could have been a pre-ordained happening. Something was born in me."

Ronald, now living in Norfolk Street, Brighton, took on the name The Great Omani and hasn't stopped working since.

That's about to change, though, when he performs his last trick on July 10 - his 85th birthday.

He said: "Smashing a bottle on your throat with a hammer is a young man's game, really.

"When people ask I say I'm somewhere between the ages of 80 and death. It seems like a good time to end the career."

Ronald will not reveal what his last trick is going to be, but it will have to be something special to compete with earlier ones.

He was the first man to travel from London to Brighton on a bed of nails and once rode the return journey entombed in a ton of concrete.

As a memorial to the great Houdini, the Great Omani performed an underwater escape act on the West Pier, just as his predecessor and idol had done in the Twenties.

He said: "He helped me a great deal throughout my career. He was truly the greatest. I chose my stage name to sound exotic and exciting, just like his."

His unusual longevity in such a dangerous career is testament to the precautions Ronald takes.

He has only been injured twice, both times because of errors by assistants.

Filming a fire escape scene from a cardboard house, someone mistakenly put petrol inside as well as out.

Ronald said: "She started the blaze and the flames spread everywhere. I managed to get through quickly and only had burns and blisters on my hands.

"Another time, a petrol can leaked during a dive into a ring of fire, resulting in further minor burns, but I've been pretty lucky otherwise."

In fact, Ronald looks upon his conversion to a stuntman in that London bookshop as something of a lifesaver.

He said: "I was born into a wealthy family and I tended to loaf about. I was at a pretty low ebb when I came across the book.

"Both my parents had died and the family business wasn't doing very well. I needed to make some money. It's been a wonderful career and I've Houdini to thank."

Ronald hopes to perform his final stunt near the Norfolk Hotel on Brighton seafront at 11am on July 10.