Alan Shaw, 42, spent more than 22 years with the Royal Navy as a clearance diver based in Scotland but now he is turning his hand to selling stilettos on a Chorley market stall.

The father-of-four said: "I was a chief diver for the Royal Navy for 22 years. Every day was a test of my ability and it was a bit nerve wracking at times but it was what I was trained for and I came across bombs on almost a daily basis.

"I travelled the world as a bomb disposal expert and I was involved in operations in Malaysia, Singapore and Norway. In 2003 I was on tour in Iraq with coalition forces, clearing bombs on the ground that had been left after the war.

"I was second in command in Iraq and although the job is incredibly dangerous we left with a team of 18 and returned as a team of 18."

Alan was based with the Royal Navy's Northern Diving Group, which is primarily responsible for providing bomb disposal teams and underwater engineering in the North of the country.

He said: "One day I could be fixing a submarine under water and the next I could be called out to a fishing boat that had dragged up a WWI or WWII bomb from the sea bed and we would have to detonate it with a counter mining device."

Lydia's Shoe Box is named after Alan's youngest daughter Lydia, who Alan delivered in a hospital car park last year.