Hal Brooks has spent his entire working life ensuring there is a smile on the faces of his audiences.

But the 81-year-old clown now plans to retire and, to mark the occasion, he has decided to hold an exhibition of his career.

In his prime, Hal was pictured playing the fool with Princess Diana while covered in greasepaint and wearing a red rubber nose.

He was in his guise of Kerby the Clown and was on board the QE2 entertaining 400 underprivileged children in 1987.

Hal met the royal after she was taken to the liner by helicopter for its return journey from the Isle of Wight to Southampton.

The photo made it into most of the national newspapers at the time and forms part of the exhibition.

Hal said: "I couldn't believe it when I woke up and saw my picture all over the papers. It really was quite something.

"Princess Diana was lovely and she was very good with children. I think she must have been a very caring and genuine person."

Hal has spent most of his life entertaining.

He and his wife Deena moved to Bognor from London to work as entertainers at Butlins in the Sixties.

After working four seasons, they bought a camper van and travelled the country.

For 15 years he taught road safety in schools dressed as Kerby, sporadically returning home to Middleton-on-Sea, Bognor.

But when there was not enough money to be made from dressing as a clown he used his other skills, including building, carpentry, and sculpture, to pay the bills.

He specialised in wooden name carvings - the name of the person was decorated with items associated with their life.

He also appeared on TV and made a brief appearance in the film Main Attraction with Pat Boone.

The exhibition by the multi-talented clown will take place in Bognor.

Mementoes on show include an assortment of clown pictures and home-made props, woodwork and sculpture.

Visitors will see photos of Hal entertaining and teaching road safety to children in Sussex over the past four decades, as well as examples of his work, such as a giant papier mache bird.

And old age hasn't stopped Hal trying fresh hobbies including art.

He recently started producing copies in oils of work by impressionists such as Renoir, Van Gogh, and Degas, which will also be on show.

Until recently, the pensioner still performed as a clown and he entertained at some of this year's jubilee celebrations in Sussex.

But after this week's exhibition he plans to hang up his nose and retire.

He said: "I enjoy being a clown so much but it is very tiring, especially when I am working with children all the time."

Hal's life will be on show at Bognor library in London Road until Saturday.