Suffolk's oldest Punch and Judy performer Bryan Clarke turns 83 - and plans to keep on puppeteering

• Rob Setchell went to meet Bryan Clarke at his home in Suffolk.

Bryan Clarke was seven when he first encountered Punch and Judy. The Second World War had just finished and his parents had brought him on holiday to Lowestoft.

"As an East End child I didn't understand beaches or sea," said Bryan. "But I understood Mr Punch and I laughed and laughed. I sat there every single show.

"It's like a story from another world. It's anarchic. It's make-believe. It's the first pantomime ever seen."

Bryan's passion for puppets was born and, more than 70 years later, it's still as strong as ever.

At 13, when he started staging shows on the streets of London, Bryan was considered the youngest Punch and Judy performer in the country.

On Friday, when he turned 83, he further solidified his reputation as one of the oldest.

For many years, performing as "Professor Jingles", he held three shows a day on Lowestoft beach.

Now he just takes private bookings - but he also makes all his puppets and sells them to other entertainers and he's pledged to keep on going.

Bryan said: "If you were to ask what I like best, I'd have to say the making.

"Making something that's going into somebody else's hands - and they're going to make a living or a part-time living doing a show they love."

Bryan's act has survived changing times, changing habits and changing attitudes.

In the past, councils have banned Punch and Judy shows over complaints they trivialised violence - something Bryan has always rebutted.

"People say to you Mr Punch encourages violence," he said. "And I say no, Mr Punch no more encourages violence than Goldilocks encourages squatting."