NEW DELHI - An 80-year-old resident of a village in the Indian state of Maharashtra has become famous locally for collecting and eating stones.

Rambhau Bodke from the village of Adarki Khurd has been dubbed ‘Uncle Stone’ by locals because he supplements his daily diet with around 250 grammes of pebbles of various shapes and sizes.

His unusual habit began in 1989 when an old lady from his village suggested he try munching on a few stones to rid him of his stomach pain.

Bodke gave it a go and his tummy problems vanished overnight.

He says doctors were horrified when he told them of his bizarre remedy, but he says it's the calcium in the pebbles that does the trick.

Over the years Bodke has developed a small fanbase, and people now even come from nearby villages to see him chow down on his strange snack.