An 84-year-old stunt man and a lavatory attendant are just two of the colourful characters featured in a warts-and-all guide to Brighton.

The authors of Brighton Street-Talk Walk spent almost two years recording interviews with people from all walks of life, including pub landlords, entertainers and pensioners.

The book takes visitors arriving at Brighton station on a circular tour of the city centre through neighbourhoods including the North Laine, Kemp Town, the seafront and Western Road.

Each chapter features interviews with locals who talk about their lives, the history of each area and provide insider tips about the hidden corners of the city often missed by tourists.

There are maps, snippets of poetry, local information, photographs and even advice on where to stop for a drink.

One of the editors, Keith Kennedy, who writes radio and stage scripts, dreamt up the idea for a community guide written by locals when he was on one of his regular strolls around the city centre.

He said: "We wanted to remind people about the places in between the usual tourist sites. We also wanted to reverse the trend of everyone being paranoid of talking to each other and get them to start saying 'hello'."

Mr Kennedy said the book was a community project, with the writers meeting regularly in pubs and setting up their own company, Street Talk Publications, to produce the guide.

They found the interviewees by word of mouth and knocking on doors. He said: "I have sat for hours in people's houses listening to the stories of their lives. The idea is people take the guide out for the day and use it. Brighton is teeming with interesting people, writers and artists and we hope this is just the beginning and the guide will change and be used for other projects."

Ron Cunningham, 84, alias stuntman The Great Omani, is among the 50 people featured. He talks about the seafront and the outrageous stunts he has performed in Brighton.

He was the first to travel along Madeira Drive standing on his head on top of a car and he also endured an uncomfortable journey from London to Brighton on a bed of nails. In the Seventies he reproduced Houdini's famous death dive by jumping into the sea off the West Pier tied up in chains, locks, ropes and handcuffs.

Writer Ray Watkinson has lived in Over Street, in North Laine, since 1971. He describes how the street, built by Thomas Over, has been through good and bad times and how, when he moved there, none of the houses was painted and it was like walking through the "Valley of the Shadow of Death".

The unemployed talk about voluntary work and creative ways they spend their time, while others in the guide say they are getting fed up with the increase in "dossers".

Interviewee Sarah Wright, of Tidy Street, who is director of the Ray Tindle Centre, described her motivation for taking part in the guide.

She said: "I liked the idea of Brighton on foot. Brighton is made up of small areas and little village-type groupings and that is why it is so varied."

Mabel Franchi, of George Street, tells how she married her late Italian husband in 1928 and ran a delicatessen in Kemp Town which sold unusual goods for the day, including pasta, olive oil and cheese.

Another Kemp Town resident, David Burgess, who runs a picture framing business, describes the colourful characters who liven up the area including a Salvador Dali lookalike called Drako and a transsexual called Ziggy who drives a shooting brake with pink stripes along the sides and pink furry dice.

The history of the seafront and the raids by the French during the centuries are also described.

The growing popularity of bathing is explained by Stephen Dennett, who says in the guide: "Going into the sea was a medicinal rather than a recreational thing."

Other people such as David Pearmain, who was licensee of the Fortune of War pub for three years, describe the club scene on the seafront and talk about its problems, including fights, rubbish and drugs.

The Brighton Street-Talk Walk costs £6.95 and is on sale at bookshops around the city.