Drinkers at a Burley-in-Wharfedale pub are being asked to walk on fire in aid of a cancer charity.

The hair-raising stunt, which involves walking 20ft across hot wooden ashes, is the brainchild of Tom Foster, landlord of the Generous Pioneer, on the Burley bypass.

Mr Foster, who is organising the event on August 21 in aid of the Ardenlea Marie Curie Centre in Ilkley, has already performed the feat at a seminar for bosses in the Tom Cobleigh pub chain.

The 50-year-old said: "It's the next step up from bungee jumping. It was excellent. I was apprehensive. My first reaction was 'no chance' and I think without the other people geeing you up to do it and the preparation beforehand people would back out.

"But it's not that painful - more like walking on hot sand - and some people don't realise when they have done it. Afterwards I thought, did I really do that?

"I'm hoping that around 40 regulars will sign up to it though I haven't signed anybody up as yet although some have said they're interested."

Mark Farr, a project manager with Stirling Events based in Nottingham which is staging the event, said: "The temperature of the fire gets up to 1100F which is pretty hot when you think aluminium melts at 500F and human flesh at 300F.

"People can withstand it because it all comes down to physics. The contact time is very limited and charcoal is not a very good conductor of heat.

"We also spend two and a half hours beforehand on a 'Learn or Burn' session which explains how the body reacts and tricks that your subconscious can play on you. The idea is to overcome your subconscious fears.

"Everybody is completely in control when they do the walk and the adrenaline buzz is so great that people need a week to come down from it. They have such an intense state of awareness.

"We do up to 400 events a year with thousands of people taking part and the worst injury we have had is someone who got slightly blistered - but no worse than you would get by going on a long walk. A company representative also does the first walk and we still all have ten digits on our feet."

Anyone under the influence of alcohol and drugs is not allowed to take part. Insurance is the same as that for helicopter flights. The walk will cost £50 per person, with any money raised beyond that going to Marie Curie.

But Accident & Emergency consultant in Bradford, Pete Bradley, said he thought participants were silly to get involved in such stunts and should leave them to the professionals.

"There's not only the possibility of burning your feet -- if you trip and fall you can get quite serious burns."