Phil Cool is to quit stand-up after more than 30 years in the business.

The 64-year-old comedian and impressionist, who will end his last nationwide tour in June next year, said the pressures of touring have become too much

But he said: ‘I will probably still do gigs within a half hour radius if the opportunity arises.’

Cool – who shot to fame in the Eighties after being spotted by Jasper Carrott –narrowly escaped serious injury after a 'nasty' motorway pile-up when travelling home from a gig in March.

But he told the Lancashire Evening Post: ‘My decision isn’t because of the car crash but it is because of the traffic, I do my own driving and I hate the traffic when I’m on tour. I love doing the gigs but it’s so tiring.’

He said that after he finishes performing, he will write a book about his career and work on his alternative profession as a singer-songwriter.

Cool – real name Phil Martin – suffered a heart attack in 2000, and returned to the stage in 2002. His ‘Tour Of No Return’ runs from January to June, ending in Broadstairs in Kent. Click here for dates.