A 65-year-old grandad-of-thirteen has taken part in his first bodybuilding contest... but he fears it may be his last because there is no one his age to compete with.

Cambs Times: Roland Burton.Roland Burton. (Image: Archant)

Roland Burton, of Wisbech, won the Master 50s category of the annual Anglian Bodybuilding Championships at the Atlantis Arena in Great Yarmouth.

The retired car dealer started going to Shapers Gym in Wisbech four years ago after piling on the pounds - his weight ballooned to 16.5st and he had a 52inch waist.

After attending last year’s competition with his wife Margaret, he decided to give it a try.

He trained rigorously for the past six months to get himself into peak condition for the contest - on competition day he weighed 13st and had a 34inch waist.

He said: “I retired at 60 and in the next year I put on so much weight I knew I had to go to the gym.

“I came last year and I said to my wife ‘I’d like to have a go at that’. I spoke to Paul (Shapers manager) and we started training on January 2. The rest is history.

“The training was hard but I found the diet even harder. For the first four months it was just protein - steaks and chicken.

“For the last six weeks, it has been no carbs to drop the weight. I had some nice abs on the day.”

The father-of-five says he got a big buzz from the competition but does not know if he will do one again.

He said: “My wife and children think it’s brilliant and I got a big buzz from the day.

“I would like to do more competitions but there’s nobody doing it in my age group. I would have to compete against people in their 40s and 50s and I would look silly against them.”

Over a course of 12 classes, 50 competitors took to the stage in a bid to impress the judging panel, which included a former Mr Universe and other seasoned champions.

Competition organiser Scott Graysmark said: “We have an over-50s category but to have someone aged 65 take part is quite rare. He was definitely in really good nick for his age.”