A FORMER internationally recognised street performer has written a semi-autobiographical book about her times.

Sue Gill, alongside her husband, John Fox, started Welfare State International, a street performance troupe, in 1968.

It closed down in 2006, following almost 40 years of success touring the globe.

Now, Ms Gill has written a book which she says is difficult to classify.

She said: "It's certainly not chronological.

"That's one thing I have never done; read a book from start to finish."

The book, titled 'in all my born days', began as a collection of stories which she wrote in her spare time, beginning five or six years ago.

Some are stories from her past, others musings written as she trudged through the muddy sands of Morecambe Bay.

She explained: "I started off as a bit of a crap writer, so I've gone back and rewritten a lot of the early stuff.

"But as I wrote, I thought that some of it was actually quite good.

"I gave pieces to close friends and family and they enjoyed them, so I thought I should get it out there and let others enjoy it too."

She's written about hearing the wind for the first time as a formerly deaf child regaining hearing, and made analogues between the torrid conditions in the Morecambe Bay and soldiers in the trenches during the war.

She continued: "It's a bit of a jigsaw - readers can pick it up anywhere, read a bit, and fit it all together in their minds as it makes sense to them."

Ms Gill moved to Ulverston more than 40 years ago.

In fact, Gill isn't the name she was born with. It is plucked from the town itself.

She finished: "I was always Mrs Fox when I came, but at a certain point I thought that it felt strange that I'd never had a name of my own,

"The thought pinged into my head - goodness me! - I could choose my own name.

"Then I knew. It had to be Gill, because we were living on The Gill. I knew I’d found my spot.

"I've been all around the world and never felt at home anywhere more than Ulverston - the people are the best you get anywhere."

It can be picked up from Ulverston bookshops, Sutton's Bookshop and The Book Shack, or on Amazon.

She's hoping to do some in-person release events early next year.