For many of us, we have often wondered how the streets we live in would have looked, and what tales they may have witnessed.

Thanks to the research and photography skills of Neil Mattingly and Bill Burn, for residents in Charmouth this has become a possibility.

The pair are set to give a talk to Charmouth Local History Society on Charmouth Then and Now, where they will aim to shed some light on the stories and the scenery from the past, including stories on when a lion visited the village, when crowds gathered for the coronation of the king, and many more.

Bill has taken photographs of Charmouth's past from Neil's website, and blended them together with modern day photographs.

Bill said: "Some time ago I sent Neil some photos where I'd merged old photos from his website with modern day ones that I'd taken.

"At a party on New Year's Eve he sidled up to me and asked if I could help him with some photos for his next talk. "In a moment of weakness I said yes, and it kind of developed from there."

Through placing the old into the modern context, Bill hopes each image can stimulate the imagination and help to recreate the atmosphere of the time, bringing it all to life.

Bill has also used some of his own photographs to show how some smaller parts of Charmouth have changed.

There are many accounts of accidents caused by vehicles going too fast down the steep hills around Charmouth, but the most unusual incident occurred in 1929 at Fernhill on the road to Lyme from Charmouth.

In June, 1929 Chapman's Travelling Zoo-Circus was moving from Bridport to Lyme Regis, and whilst being towed up Fernhill, a cage containing a lion and three tigers rolled back down the hill after the connecting rod broke.

The cage hit a tree and broke open, which lead to the escape of 'Pasha' the lion.

He lay by the road for half an hour while queues of traffic and onlookers built up.

The trainer was summoned from Lyme and approached with a rope, but the lion got up and moved away, which caused spectators to start running and shouting.

Spooked, the lion jumped over the hedge and headed towards Lily Farm, towards Charmouth.

The lion spotted some cattle in a field, and one of the cows immediately attacked it.

After a fierce battle, in which time the cow held its own and inflicted a gash with its horn, the cow eventually died.

Following this, the lion careered round the field and dashed into the garden of Mr Goodland or Lily Farm, who seized a gun and joined in the hunt with several other farmers and the village butcher Mr FC Marsh, all of whom were armed.

By this time, a crowd of several hundred people were watching from a distance, some climbing telegraph poles, trees or roofs to get a better view.

Shots were fired, one of which wounded the lion in the hind-quarters and another catching the eye.

This prompted the lion to race around, causing the crowd to scatter, with one man chased by the lion round an old building.

Pasha eventually met his demise at the hands of village postman Percy Smith, who, armed with a revolver, got close enough to despatch the poor animal.

Pasha's one hour of freedom came at a heavy price.