A 79-year-old Redcar man has won the British Veterans' Indoor Athletic Championship in Cardiff.

Jim Caddy, who has a treadmill in his sheltered accommodation at the Sir William Turner Almshouses in Kirkleatham, won both the 1,500m and 3,000m races in the competition.

The former ICI worker will now take part in the World Veteran's Championship in Stuttgart in Germany, where he will be the oldest competitor. He also plans to compete in the World Road Championship in New Zealand in April.

Jim, who was married for 45 years and has two children and four grandchildren, is always being asked for tips on fitness.

"When my mother died when I was a boy, she told me to stay away from girls, so I shut my eyes every time I'm with one," he joked.

"I've never smoked a cigarette and kept fit all my life. I've always run rather than walk.

"I run for an hour-and-a-half every day around the roads in Redcar and exercise on my treadmill.

"I tell people to think of a car which has been sitting in the garage for six months - if you don't use it, it doesn't work properly. If people sit about and don't exercise enough, they lose control of their own system.

"But if you can get to nearly 80 and still be competing like I do, then you've just been very lucky."