A NORTH-EAST man has taken part in his first bodybuilding competition - at the age of 62.

Doug Aistrup, of Darlington, took part in the National Amateur Bodybuilders' Association event in Hartlepool on Sunday, competing against the region's best strongmen.

He may be nearing pensionable age, but rather than reducing his work, Mr Aistrup has honed his body using dumbells and weights.

He puts it all down to hard work and his job, as well as a burning desire to raise sponsorship for a young boy with cerebral palsy.

"I just train hard, I've done it for years," said Mr Aistrup, who works as a naturopath, helping treat people with health problems.

He said: "I train with the younger ones and we help each other. And with the work I do, I can tweak things. Lots of people try to do bodybuilding, but they do not know how to go about it.

"The most difficult part of it is the dieting, because I am very small, even though I may not look it."

Mr Aistrup works out at the Penthouse gym, in Skinnergate, Darlington, along with Kirk Elliott, 23, and 20-year-old Carl Wilson, who qualified for the national finals of the competition in Southport this year.

Mr Elliott, a local photographer, said: "I still have a hard time keeping up with Doug."