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Derek 'Blaster' Bates, who has died aged 83, was a demolition expert and "Wall of Death" stunt rider who later forged a career as a raconteur of risqué, politically incorrect and side-splitting scatalogical stories.

As an after-dinner speaker in the 1970s he was most at home in front of beery Northern rugby club audiences and convivial Round Table gatherings; his tall (but true) tales of explosive mishaps — with such uncompromising titles as "The Shower of S**t Over Cheshire" — received a rapturously appreciative reception.

Bates, who stood 6ft 4in tall, bore a striking resemblance to John Wayne, and lived his life as if to mirror the on-screen adventures of his film star hero.

He survived the Second World War as a bomber pilot, single-handedly demolished more than 500 chimney stacks across the north of England, helped punch the route of the M6 across the Cheshire plain and performed daredevil feats as the star of a motorcycle stunt team.

Derek Macintosh Bates was born on February 5 1923 at Crewe, where his father managed the local Co-Op. After Crewe Grammar School, he served his apprenticeship at the local Rolls-Royce car factory, but this was interrupted by the outbreak of war.

Having joined the RAF he flew Halifax bombers, and later specialised in bomb disposal, which inspired an interest in the use of explosives and demolition.

On leaving the RAF, Bates started his own demolition business in Cheshire and soon became recognised as a leading exponent of high stack chimney demolition, pioneering the way in which such buildings were demolished.

He changed the landscape of northern England by single-handedly blowing up 54 chimney stacks at St Helens alone, earning the nickname "Blaster" Bates.

In the early 1950s, as his reputation as a demolition expert spread both in Britain and abroad, Bates prepared the site of the Oulton Park racing circuit in Cheshire, which later furnished the setting for one his most hilarious and unrepeatable stories, "The Naming Of Knicker Brook", in which a semi-naked courting couple flee in disarray from one of his explosions.

Bates's demolition career, combined with his bluff personality and quick wit, eventually led to a career as a full-time raconteur. It began with an off-the-cuff talk he gave to his local rugby club, which was heard by a Round Tabler; he, in turn, booked Bates as an after-dinner speaker.

In the early 1970s Bates made Laughter with a Bang, the first of a series of long-playing albums (all recorded in front of live audiences); they featured rambling stories of varying crudeness delivered in a deadpan Cheshire brogue that established him as something of a cult figure.

A further seven collections followed, including TNT for Two, Watch Out for the Bits and 1,001 Gelignites. He was invited to appear on television talk shows such as Parkinson and performed in one-man shows in cities across Britain.

Bates continued to give talks to audiences until he was in his late seventies. On his Norton motorcycle he took part in scrambling and hill climbs, and eventually became a star of a "Wall of Death" stunt team, performing daredevil acts at local fetes and carnivals.

A lifelong rugby union fan, he played competitively for Cheshire Police, with whom he served as a special constable between 1968 and 1980.

Bates was also known for his charity work, mainly with disabled children, for whom he raised millions of pounds in his lifetime. He died on September 1.

Derek Bates married, in 1946, Maud Lightfoot; she survives him with their son and three daughters.