British race car driver Ben Collins, who has been unveiled as Top Gear mystery man The Stig, has been revealed to be a former member of the SAS.

Collins, 35, is said to have served as a member of the renowned 23 SAS, the regiment of highly trained reservists, training SAS heroes in daring "escape and evade" driving skills while serving with the British regiment.

Sources close to the Special Forces unit revealed how Collins passed on his expertise to the troops, and also revealed that they had known about his secret identity as The Stig ever since he landed the job on the BBC's flagship motoring show in 2003.

"We've known he was The Stig all along - it has been a standing joke within the regiment. He worked as a course instructor in Hereford," the Sun quoted one fellow SAS member as saying.

"On the driving tracks he helped pass on his knowledge of high-speed escape and evade tactics," the member added. (ANI)