DURING the week they appear like any other family, quietly going about their business in Wiltshire's most populous town.

But at weekends the Dukes transform into a family of daredevils, performing high jumps, wheelies and fire stunts for the stunned spectators.

Grandfather Barry Duke, dad Kristian and son Billy are Swindon's very own Dukes of Hazzard, riding for the spectacular Over the Top stunt team run by Swindon entrepreneur Andy Hobbs.

Barry, 59, is well known around town for his days as a rider with Swindon Robins speedway team.

Now semi-retired, he spends his weekends leaping through flames - which has earned him the affectionate nickname 'Barbecue'.

Son Kristian is no stranger to danger either, having shot to fame aged just seven when he made the 10 o'clock news for jumping 23 feet across the River Ray.

Following in his father's tyre tracks is young Billy Duke, who turned four on Sunday.

Billy is the official mascot for the Over the Top team and will even be performing a special stunt of his own this season. But what was it that drew the Dukes to the stunt ground like moths to the flame?

GM: Kristian, you're known to your fans as "No Fear", but how did you become involved in such a high-octane sport?

KD: I was on holiday in Newquay when Andy called to see if I could fill in for one of his stunt riders who was injured.

But I actually began stunt riding much earlier, when I was only five or six.

I used to perform at village shows and when I was seven I made the 10 o'clock news for jumping 23ft off a ramp over the River Ray.

The police threatened to arrest my dad if he let me do anything like that again. We had to cancel a jump over four cars at the Abbey Stadium.

GM: Barry, as a former speedway star where do you fit into all this madness?

BD: I had seen the Over the Top team perform once at Commonweal, but I never imagined I would be involved, especially not into my late 50s.

I went across to watch Kristian perform in London so I could check the bike and make sure everything was safe.

After that I started to tour with the team as a mechanic. Then the person who did the fire jumps stopped riding so I volunteered.

I've been doing it for five years now. I was thinking about packing it in but with Billy starting I may go a little longer.

GM: What's the most spectacular stunt you perform?

KD: There are lots, but one of the fans' favourites is the father-son fire stunt. We sit a bale of straw on a set of trestles and light a fire beneath the ramp. Dad rides through the fire while - jump over the top - without any protective clothing.

BD: I love all the fire stunts, but I think the fans will love to see little Billy. He will be jumping off a twofoot ramp with me and Kristian lying on the floor looking straight up at him.

GM: How does it feel to be lying on the ground watching four-yearold Billy soar over you on a motorbike?

BD: I think it's fantastic. If this is going to be my last year with the team it will be great to perform with the rest of the family.

Billy is motorcycle mad. He is going to be the star of the show, there's no doubt about that.

KD: I now know how dad must have felt watching me when I first sat on a bike.

He's a natural, and I'm sure it won't be long before he's jumping as far as I do.

GM: How do the women in the family feel about this?

KD: My wife Heidi is great. She knows Billy loves to ride and she is very supportive.

The stunt shows may look spectacular, but we would never put ourselves under too much risk because this is supposed to be fun.

Andy's not planning to quit the arena yet
ENTREPRENEUR Andy Hobbs may be over the hill at 41, but that won't stop him going over the top during one of his outrageous motorcycle stunt shows.

Andy, pictured left, is a former motocross star and holder of two Guinness World Records, and has been wowing the crowds since 1997 with his Over the Top exhibition selling out arenas across the country.

Andy is the owner of several Swindon businesses, including Man with the Van and Swindon Removals, but loves nothing more than to share his adrenaline-fuelled passion with fellow motor sport enthusiasts when he's not in work.

It's a passion which has seen him appear in several hit films as a stunt rider, including the 2004 family movie Tooth, a far cry from his days pounding the dirt as an amateur motocross rider.

Andy explained: "I really enjoyed motocross but you can't race forever because your body doesn't allow you to. I felt it would be a shame to give up the skills I had, though.

"I got signed up by another stunt team (Stunt World International). I performed for them for about a year but I felt I was being held back.

"I knew if I was a promoter I could make the show a lot better than it was.

"So I decided to start my own stunt team. That was 12 years ago and now Over The Top is recognised by agents as the best stunt show in the country."

Performing in front of crowds of up to 20,000 over the course of a weekend, Andy is certainly no stranger to the spotlight.

In fact he revels in it - during the show he commentates through a microphone in his helmet to whip up the atmosphere among the audience.

"I love it when people come up to us after the show and say 'Wow, I have never seen anything like that'.

"I pick the best riders in the country to do each stunt, There isn't anybody out there who is better."

Stunt riding is not without its risks, something Hobbs knows all to well.

He has endured 18 operations throughout his career and says leaping over parked cars for a living is not for the faint-hearted.

"We love to do it but we all know the risks. Two years ago one of my team suffered a split liver and was in intensive care for a week, " he said.

"Two other riders were injured - one had a broken leg, the other an injured ankle.

"That was the worst day of my life. We went there as a team and I came back on my own. I was worried sick.

"But I love doing what I do and I want to carry on for a few more years yet."