DAREDEVIL Southend mayor Chris Walker appeared to defy gravity in front of a nervous crowd by taking on the famed Wall of Death.

Mr Walker, who has been a biker since 1961, got to fulfil a wish he made in September to one day take part in the deathdefying stunt, which was made famous at the Kursaal by George “Tornado” Smith between 1950 and 1970.

Garry Lowen, of Southend Carnival, brought Carters Steam Fair to Chalkwell Park last weekend, with Messham’s Wall of Death in tow, to fulfil the mayor’s wish while providing the public with a fun-packed Easter weekend.

Through the roar of the bikes and the smell of petrol fumes, Mr Walker rode with fifth generation rider Jake Messham, 24, aboard one of the family’s Twenties motorbikes, kitted out in black jeans and boots with a leather jacket close at hand.

“It was bloody terrifying,” he said.

“You get on and you don’t know how far up the wall you’re going, but, when you get off, you can’t stand up.

“I was told before Christmas the very upper limit was 11 stone, and I was 14-and-a-half that Christmas, but I’m now 11st – slim, trim and sexy.”

Performing with Mr Messham was Charles Winter, 64, who said he had been drafted in from his retirement home in London to fill in for other members of the Messham family who were busy.

Sir David Amess, who was watching in the wings, added: “I think the mayor showed enormous bravery – I felt ill just watching it – and it was a fantastic thing to do to raise money for his charity, the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign.”

Echo:

George "Tornado" Smith

SOUTHEND’S Wall of Death at the Kursaal was reputed to be the first in Britain.

The Kursaal Amusement Park was one of the first of its kind, opening in 1901, with the 20ft Wall of Death being imported from America in 1929.

George “Tornado” Smith is said to have been working as a taxi driver at the time and, after dropping off a customer at the Kursaal, instantly fell in love with the Wall of Death.

His first job on a Wall of Death was in Malmo, Sweden, but by 1933 he had returned to the UK and purchased Briton the lion, who would ride on the handlebars of the Indian Scout motorbike, and in a side car once she was fully grown.

Tornado Smith featured in a 30-minute thriller the Wall in 1956, which was thought to be lost, but was recently rediscovered in a foreign collection.

He would continue to perform at the Kursaal until his retirement in 1965, but he had already inspired a younger generation of daredevils, including Richard Abrey, who performed as the Black Baron. He was found dead in his Westcliff home in 2007 aged 63.

The Wall of Death was closed by the Seventies with the park itself closing outdoor amusements in 1973.