An ageing rower has landed a championship gold medal – after taking up the sport when he retired.

Weston Towler, 85, of Seaford, took up indoor rowing when he retired 24 years ago and trains three times a week.

He has competed in the British Indoor Rowing Championships 18 times and won six medals.

The pensioner rowed 2,000 metres in just 9.02 minutes at the Nottingham event at the end of 2013.

He was the oldest competitor, with his nearest rival aged 79.

In fact he was so dedicated he was the only entrant in his age range of 85 to 89 years old, allowing him to comfortably cruise to a third gold medal.

Mr Towler: “I just want to do as well as I possibly can.

“Rowing is addictive and I definitely have a competitive streak in me.”

Stewart Angell, manager at Downs Leisure Centre, said: “Weston is an inspiration to us all and continues to be year after year.

“We see him here every week without fail, and his dedication to keeping himself active is admired by all our members and staff.

“I think we all secretly hope that we’ll all still be going as strong as he is when we are in our eighties.”