The legend that was Sheppey wrestler Ian 'Pitbull' Johnson has died. He was 53.

The 22-stone "bad boy" of the ring from Alma Road, Sheerness, had entertained grunt and groan fans for 32 years but hung up his leotard in October 2017.

He said at the time: "I’m going to miss the hisses and boos but I’m not getting any younger and I’m starting to feel the pain.”

Mr Johnson had also fought as the Mongolian Mauler and Bob the Builder. At his height the self-styled "man mountain" weighed 25 stones.

He performed in holiday parks, including Leysdown’s Priory Hill, and grappled in Nigeria, Spain and Canada.

The former European heavyweight champion started as a stand-in for the late Dangerous Danny Lynch.

His mother Sue Johnson, 71, from Linden Drive, Sheerness, said: "My husband Brian and I took Ian to his first wrestling match when he was eight or nine. After that, wrestling became his life. He talked of nothing else."

He later told the Sheerness Times Guardian: "The man who set up the ring knew my mum and dad and sometimes Danny would come to tea. He was very nasty in the ring but outside he was a gentle giant.

“I started to help when he played the Wheatsheaf Hall in Sheerness and then stood in as his ‘second’. When he learned I did judo as a kid he offered to teach me some wrestling moves.”

Pitbull soon mastered arm and head locks, the Boston Crab and Full and Half Nelsons and made his debut as part of a tag team at the Wheatsheaf when one of the wrestlers failed to show.

He admitted: “I was thrown in at the deep end but luckily ended up on the winning side.”

He went on tour with wrestling star Jackie “Mr TV” Pallo where he met Kent promoter Brian Manelli and spent the rest of his career working with the mystery man behind the mask of The Phantom.

But it wasn’t all plain sailing. He cracked the base of his spine, broke his leg three times and his arm “more than once.”

He was rushed to Medway Maritime Hospital on Monday last week and died on Wednesday. He suffered from a number of illnesses, many of which were brought on by the very weight which made him such a success in the ring.

Recently he had been helping as a delivery driver at an Indian takeaway in Minster village.

He leaves his mother and a sister, Lisa.

Mrs Johnson said: "Despite his wrestling persona as a bad boy he was very kind and had a heart of gold.

"He raised money for charities, including the armed forces veteran organisation Help for Heroes and The Oliver Smith Appeal, and would help anyone. He loved doing charity work and would pop in to see my every morning in case I needed anything."

She added: "Wrestling was always his first love. He went all over the world. It was his passion. But this has been a very big shock. He was only 53.

"I will remember him as a loving and helpful son who was always there for me. My place was his second home. I don't know what I will do now."

The funeral is at Vinters Park Crematorium, Bearsted, on Monday, March 18 at 3.30pm.