A retail manager has broken the Guinness World Records for the one finger deadlift.

Steve Keeler, from Shepherdswell, near Dover, managed to lift 129.5kg with just his middle finger - roughly the weight of a three-seater sofa.

Steve Keeler sets the world record for the one finger deadlift

Speaking about his special skill, Mr Keeler said: "It's not the weight that's the hard thing to lift, it's getting through the pain and if you can do that then you're fine.

"You have to get over the pain, you can't just succumb to it - you've got to get through it. That's something I've always trained for."

During lockdown the fitness enthusiast built a gym with his friend and that's when Mr Keeler discovered the strength in his fingers.

He explained: "In lockdown we were doing some gym work and after messing about with some of the weights I moved a weight that was quite heavy with one finger.

"We set challenges to see how heavy we could get and I wondered what the world record was.

"It wasn't much more than what I'd lifted."

The 48-year-old started training for the challenge to beat the record and managed to lift 7.8kg heavier than the previous record which stood at 121.7kg.

The previous record had stood for 10 years and Mr Keeler said it feels odd to have beaten it: "It's such a random record but it's just something I thought I'd have a bit of fun with.

"It was a lockdown project, something to tell the grandkids."

Mr Keeler said he might try to beat his current record in the future: "I think I've got 150kg in me."

He added that the strength in his fingers comes from his martial arts background.

"Martial arts is the reason I have such strong hands and high pain threshold to withstand the lift," he said.

"I've been a martial artist most of my life and have a fifth dan blackbelt in tsuyoi ryu karate which is a full contact style.

"I train under Kent Karate Schools and am a NAKMAS (National Association of Karate & Martial Art Schools) governing body committee officer.

"I also hold a first dan black belt in Judo."

The key rules to set the record were that the weight had to be lifted from the ground by at least four inches, by one finger, for over five seconds.

Mr Keeler said: "It needed to be witnessed by qualified weightlifting instructors and was conducted in Paul Terry's self constructed 'The Pit' gym in Ashford."

Mr Keeler completed the challenge on February 13 and received confirmation that he was the new Guinness World Records holder this month.