Wiltshire cannon maker enjoys making people smile through his hobby

A mechanic who enjoys turning his engineering talents to making cannon in his spare time, said his motivation is to make people smile.

Kev Mead, from Berwick St John, Wiltshire, has been fascinated by the artillery weapon since childhood.

One of only four cannon makers in the country, Mr Mead is invited to bring his collection to events such as weddings, funerals and local festivals.

"Every time you fire a cannon, someone laughs," he said.

Speaking to BBC Wiltshire, Mr Mead said: "It's the bang, the crack, it just makes you smile.

"I have to warn everyone in the village that if they hear a bang, it's me letting the cannon off."

The work is a labour of love for Mr Mead, who spends up to four weeks making each cannon.

The cannon are machined on a lathe by hand and then heat-treated using old-fashioned skills of "blueing" the barrel to give the steel a patina effect.

He admitted the guns can be quite dangerous to set off and has even had his sideburns set alight whilst working on his hobby.

A firearms licence is required to operate a cannon and each individual gun is registered with a serial number.

Mr Mead is also obliged to inform the police, the coastguard and the RNLI if he plans to set one off.

Although Mr Mead has cannonballs as heavy as 9kg (20 lbs) for display purposes, he uses black powder blanks for the actual firing.

"You want it at least six foot in front of you. The paper or whatever the powder is in, is going to hurt you, it's going to sting," he said.

One of his guns was hired by the BBC and appeared in a television adaptation of Great Expectations.

At one summer wedding he gave the bride and groom a go at setting the cannon off.

"It was so hot we ended up running around with the groundsmen, stamping on the grass as it was on fire," he said.

Mr Mead regularly takes his cannon to local festivals across the country and visitors are able to have a go in return for a donation to charity.

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