A SELF-employed plasterer has proved he can flex his muscles with the best of them after competing in the final of Britain's Strongest Man.

Mark Felix, 38, battled it out against Britain's best at the two-week contest where events included pulling a 40-ton train over 20 metres; carrying two motorcycles with a combined weight of 406kgs in a yoke across the shoulders; and a Farmers' Walk with 160kg weights in each hand.

It was the first time that Mark, who is originally from Grenada, had competed in the event, which was held at Butlins in Minehead, Somerset, after moving into the strongman sport from bodybuilding about two years ago.

Just 10 of the 30 competitors - including Mark - went through to the final round of the competition, where he took sixth position.

Mark's proud wife Denny said: "He did better in the qualifiers than he did in the finals but he was really pleased with his performance."

Mark, who lives in Great Harwood, with Denny and their two children, aged five and 17 months, trains in his local gym in Game Street five days a week and travels to a strongman camp in Worcester every Sunday.

Over the past two years Mark, who is 6ft 4ins tall and weighs in at 21 stone, has travelled the world taking part in strongman contests and he is becoming so successful that he is putting his job as a self-employed plasterer on hold for a year to concentrate on his training.

Mark, who hopes to turn professional in the future, has also been invited to represent Grenada in the World's Strongest Man contest in the Bahamas.