Wrestling icon Adrian Street has died aged 82

Adrian's wife Linda hailed the late wrestler as "the kindest, most loving man you could ever meet."

The 77 year old, who was also a wrestler in the 1960s, told BBC Wales: "He'd had a heart problem a while ago which was resolved.

"But then he had a stroke earlier this month which resulted in a bleed on the brain.

"He was recovering from that at home when he developed colitis - a chronic inflammatory bowel disease - which later turned into sepsis. That's what killed him.

"It all came about so quick. I've still not come to terms with it yet.

"[He was] the kindest, most lovely and loving man I've ever known. The total opposite to how he behaved on stage."

Linda plans to have Adrian cremated and will scatter his ashes on the mountains near their Cwmbran home.

Adrian ran away to London in his mid-teens and signed up with a wrestling promoter, who gave him the ring name Kid Tarzan Jonathan.

He later reverted back to his own name and set himself apart from other wrestlers with his flamboyant attire, which typically included dayglo face paint, a feather boa and his peroxide hair tied in pigtails.

Mocking made him behave more outrageously, skipping around the ring and covering his opponents in lipstick kisses.

Famously, in 1971, Adrian left disgraced late broadcaster Jimmy Savile battered and bruised when he dropped him on his head and tore out a chunk of his hair, later claiming he'd ignored requests to "throw" the match.

He said in 2013: "Back in those days the promoters were trying to get proper wrestlers to throw their matches with him - it was all part of some big stupid gimmick."

The wrestler made a bigger name for himself when he moved to the US and Canada in the 1980s, eventually settling in Florida with Linda, who served as his business manager. The couple - who met in 1969 - set up The Bizarre Bazaar, a costume-making business and their own grappling school, Skull Krushers Academy.

In later years, the couple moved back to Wales and in 2019, 'You May Be Pretty, But I Am Beautiful', a film about Adrian's life was released.

He also recorded an album and wrote a number of autobiographies.