Mural of city's legendary strongman completed

Walter Cornelius was known for his eccentric exploits, including pushing a pea with his nose and walking miles on his hands

A mural celebrating a "well-loved" strongman, lifeguard and entertainer has been completed in the city that became his home.

Walter Cornelius, who fled his native Latvia in the 1940s and settled in Peterborough, was known for stunts such as pushing a pea with his nose for a mile (1.6km) and attempting to fly across the River Nene.

The artwork was painted by local artist Nathan Murdoch on the back of the former TK Maxx and Woolworths building on Wentworth Street.

He said when he found out about Mr Cornelius' story, he wondered: "Why is there not more about him in the city?"

Mr Murchoch added he had received a great response on social media from people who knew the strongman, who died aged 60 in 1983.

"The tales coming are really interesting and he was a very well-known and well-loved person of the city," he said.

Nathan Murdoch featured three of Mr Cornelius's stunts on the mural on the city's Wentworth Street

Mr Cornelius became a favourite with TV viewers after he first appeared on BBC children's programme Blue Peter in 1967, performing a stunt in which presenters Christopher Trace and John Noakes battered his body with sledgehammers.

He returned to the show several times, but his summer day job was as a lifeguard at the lido in Peterborough, where he taught generations of children to swim.

Mr Cornelius made the city his home after rowing 400 miles across the Baltic with a Russian bullet wound in his stomach, according to his friend Chris Allen.

His feats included breaking more than 50 World Records and walking on his hands for 153 miles (246km), said Mr Allen.

He became known as the "birdman of Peterborough" after an unsuccessful attempt to fly across the Nene for charity on a pair of homemade wings.

Mr Murdoch chose an "intense photo" of Mr Cornelius pushing a pea with his nose in March 1968 as the centre piece of the mural

Yet, the only acknowledgement of Mr Cornelius's story and achievements in the city was a "birdman" silhouette weathervane at the Lido.

So Peterborough Positive, the city's Business Improvement District (BID), decided to commission the mural.

Pep Cipriano, its chief operating officer, said: "Walter was a colourful, eccentric character and lots of people have great memories of when he was fulfilling all these feats, including going on Blue Peter.

"He became a Peterborough celebrity and needed to be honoured - but he was also a lifeguard at the Lido and with its 90th anniversary next year; it's a nod to one of its most famous employees."

He hopes the publicity will see more people coming forward to share their stories of Mr Cornelius, whose life he described as "a Hollywood film waiting to happen".