An Iranian hermit known as the "world's dirtiest man" for not having a shower for more than 60 years has died at the ripe old age of 94, according to official media.

According to the Irna news agency, "Amou Haji," an affectionate nickname for an elderly person, died on Sunday in the hamlet of Dejgah in Fars' southern region of Fars.

Local media stated that Haji, who was coated in soot and lived in a cinder-block shanty, had not washed with water or soap in more than 60 years. Villagers claimed he refused to wash because of "emotional difficulties in his boyhood."

‘Amou Haji’, who did not bathe for half a century, reportedly ate roadkill and smoked pipe filled with animal excrement.

But a few months ago, villagers had persuaded him to wash for the first time, Irna reported.

After Haji’s death, the unofficial record could go to an Indian man who also had not bathed for much of his life.

After Haji’s death, the unofficial record could go to an Indian man who also had not bathed for much of his life.

In 2009 the Hindustan Times reported that Kailash “Kalau” Singh, from a village outside the holy city of Varanasi, had not washed for more than 30 years in an attempt to help end “all the problems confronting the nation”.

He would reject water in favour of what he called a “fire bath”. “Every evening as villagers gather, Kalau … lights a bonfire, smokes marijuana and stands on a leg praying to Lord Shiva,” the paper said.

Singh was reported to have said: “It’s just like using water to take a bath. Fire bath helps kill all the germs and infections in the body.”