YODELLING fanatic Peter Pearce was happily enjoying his favourite pastime when he was ordered to stop by security staff at the Brunel Centre.

Peter, of Fernham, near Faringdon. was shopping in the Swindon shopping centre on Tuesday when he was amazed to be asked by security to stop yodelling.

"I like to yodel to myself as I go and I was wandering around the shops yodelling a bit," said 62-year-old Peter.

"Then I went into the gents and was yodelling to myself in there.

"There was another chap in there who heard me and when I came out he was stood there and said it was his wife's birthday and asked if I would yodel something for her.

"I decided to yodel some Frank Ifield for her. He's an Australian singer who is famous for his yodelling and one of the best.

"Then this security man came over and said can you stop that'.

"I couldn't believe it. I wasn't doing any harm.

"Obviously this young couple liked it or they wouldn't have asked for more.

"My dad fought in the war for our freedoms and I can't believe I have been banned from yodelling in a shopping centre.

"I paid £7.50 to park there and it is outrageous that for that price I'm not allowed to sing."

Brunel centre director Nick Beaumont-Jones said: "I understand this gentleman for whatever reason decided to start singing at the top of his voice. I understand we received complaints from customers. So one of our security staff asked him to stop.

"I think there is a time and a place for everything and people can be frightened by unusual behaviour and singing at the top of your voice certainly is unusual behaviour.

"We do have entertainers at the centre, and at some point if he would like to come back I would love to meet him."

Peter taught himself to yodel from a CD he bought on the internet 18 months ago. Since then he has gone on to perform gigs.

"I only started singing a few years ago," he said. "If I start to yodel most people will start to laugh. It instantly brings a smile to people's faces.

"It is also a very relaxing thing to do, I think doctors should prescribe it.

"A yodelling piece is called a lick. Even experienced yodellers will always sing a slightly different lick each time they sing a song. So even if you sing the same song over and over again it will still feel new each time."

Although Frank Ifield's She Taught Me How to Yodel is Peter's favourite yodelling song, he has now started work writing his own Christmas yodelling song, called Father Christmas Was a Yodeller.

Peter has also entered himself into next year's Britain's Got Talent competition.

This week Peter is off to America where he hopes to be able to perform some of his Cowboy classics in Washington State.