BY day, he's a fish wholesaler, but by night Dave Stewart becomes the Big Dog, a wrestler, performing big splashes and leg drops on opponents.

Mr Stewart, 36, began wrestling 10 years ago when he lived in London, competing against WWF stars like Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, Jim 'The Anvil' Neidhart and Tatanka, while working as a chef.

His wrestling career was sidelined while he worked in restaurants and moved to a job as a fish wholesaler, but after moving to Newport two years ago, a local promoter got in touch and Mr Stewart now performs up to three bouts a week around south Wales.

Mr Stewart, who is 6ft and weighs in at 25 stone, has also wrestled under the names of Dave 'The Tank' Sherman and 'Inferno Realistico' and first got into wrestling after answering an advert in a London magazine.

“I think I was just a frustrated entertainer. I was no good at the guitar or stand-up, but needed a way to exert it,’” he said. “I had done some martial arts and bodybuilding, so thought it may fulfill a few things.”

Mr Stewart, of Bronllys Mews, Duffryn, spent around 100 hours learning the basics such as lunging at legs, headlocks, grapples and throws.

He said: “Eventually you know how to string it into a match, it is like a Freemason's code between performers. You go into the ring with someone for 15 minutes and soon know their capabilities and what moves you can do.”

While results are pre-determined, Mr Stewart loves the pantomime of bouts, including his catchphrase “When I say Big Dog, you say woof.”

He lives with wife Rhian and children, Ieuan, three, and Celyn, eight months, working as a fish wholesaler supplying hotels like the Hilton, Newport, and Vale of Glamorgan.

Mr Stewart earns up to £100 for a performance, usually in Workingmens Clubs, but his promoter is organising a big event for St David’s Hall, Cardiff, next April.