HOLLYWOOD hunk Arnold Schwarzenegger is best known for blitzing villains in blockbuster movies - but did you know he used to go boozing in Preston?

The millionaire star of Terminator and Predator stayed in the town several times in the early 70s and often went drinking with friends in the celebrity bar - where else - at the Guild Hall.

Allan Baker, who has worked at the Guild Hall since it opened 25 years ago, is now the assistant manager and remembers being overawed by the beefcake's bulk.

He said: "He was absolutely ginormous. I'm more than six feet tall but this guy was colossal. And he was so wide.

"If it was Friday night and Arnie said it was Saturday, then so be it! Every credit to him, he's really done well for himself."

Allan's admits his most memorable moment, however, was meeting Bing Crosby just two weeks before the singer tragically died in the late 1970s. Allan described him as 'such a charming, talented man'.

But modest Allan is not star-struck at meeting so many celebrities. He said: "It's my job to welcome them and I do the best I can. At the end of the day, I go home and forget about it all."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.