A man who hasn't been able to smell properly for 20 years sniffed out a major gas leak after a kick to the head during a rugby game restored his lost sense.

Edward Baker's ability to sniff out odours has gradually deteriorated throughout his adult life following a series of broken noses while playing the physical sport.

He has even undergone surgery to fix it but with no success.

During a recent game of rugby, he received a kick to the face which left him with another bruised and bloody nose.

Incredibly, after the swelling went down he realised he was able to breathe properly and that his sense of smell had been restored.

And the 41-year-old marketing director put his new-found ability to sniff to good use when he smelt gas near to his office in Bournemouth, Dorset.

He immediately called the gas board and engineers rushed out to seal off part of the residential road and fix the leak.

Mr Baker said: "Although I haven't been able to smell gas for years, I still recognised the pungent smell straight away.

"The leak was in a built-up area with a school and nursery just yards away so the guy who kicked me in the face potentially saved a serious situation."

Mr Baker said he first broke his nose at the age of 14 and then on frequent occasions over the next 25 years.

Eventually he couldn't inhale properly through his nose and the ability to sniff scents was completely gone.

In a bid to restore his lost sense he underwent an unsuccessful operation last year which involved doctors drilling into his nose to try to improve his breathing.

But where skilled surgeons failed, a burly rugby player succeeded.

Mr Baker's latest nasal injury happened during a game involving his team, Hampshire-based New Milton III and Poole 1st team.

"So where the surgeons failed this bloke's size 12 boot worked," said the battered and bruised Mr Baker.