George Fawcett lost his marriage, livelihood and much of his memory after he was beaten into a coma ten years ago.

Now, the former bodyguard to comedian Chubby Brown has rebuilt his life - and body - to score success in a national body sculpting competition.

The 49-year-old Redcar man, who suffered mild brain damage in the beating outside a Teesside nightclub, clinched third place in the Mr United Kingdom awards at Doncaster.

That moment was the culmination of years of refusing to allow thugs to destroy his life.

The doorman and bailiff had won 20 awards for body building before he was knocked senseless by a man who was jailed for seven years, and his accomplices.

Despite often becoming listless and losing four stones in weight during a 14-day coma, he refused to allow the thugs to destroy his love of body building. The father-of-three, who lives with his second wife, Lynn, described how the beating had changed his life.

He said: "My short-term memory was gone and to this day I find it hard to remember things very well. I even couldn't remember my then wife. When she took me home I though she was a nurse.

"I was in my prime physically when it happened, but I lost so much confidence and four stones in weight. But my two training partners, Tony Stubbs and Mark Jones, my wife and the Olympia health and fitness club owner, Don Williamson, have helped me focus so much. I'm very grateful to them."

Mr Fawcett said it took him a long time to be re-employed as a minder and doorman after the beating.