John Merner was on his way out of the gym when he was stopped in his tracks by a surprise announcement.

It had been a Southern Grip Championship to remember for the Swale man after adding to his collection of over-70s world records in winning the Masters Trophy.

But there was a shock in store when the 73-year-old was declared the overall winner of the tournament in Eastbourne.

“I nearly cried,” said Merner, a Kent and south east powerlifting champion in his younger days.

“I didn’t think I’d get the overall title. When they said the winner was the old man from Kent everybody turned round and I was nearly out of the door by that point.

“My wife, Sonia, doesn’t like all the noise in the gym, so she was in the car and I was about to go and see her. It felt pretty good.”

Mercer packed up powerlifting when he was about 40 after suffering a back injury, but continued to train.

He joined the International All-Round Weightlifting Association (IAWA) after turning 65 and has broken 21 world records.

Fourteen are in the over-65 age group, with seven in the over-70s.

“It keeps me active,” said Merner, who competes in the 90kg class.

“It’s a small world - there’s about 580 in my division - but it’s nice to have the records. They asked me the secret of my success and my answer was ‘hanging rules’.

“I do three sets of hanging every night on the bar in the garage to stretch my lumbar region out and it helps my grip as well.

“I eat well - my wife’s a good cook - and I eat a massive amount of fruit and vegetables.”

Merner set world records for his 60kg vertical lift on a two-inch bar and 105kg combined dumbbell deadlift on a two-inch bar.

He also achieved a thumbless deadlift of 65kg on a one-inch bar and a separate world record, outside of the competition, with a little-finger straddle deadlift of 50kg.