YOUNG-at-heart Bill Coombs may be 76, but he's still tough enough to handle any challenge – and he's even got the pictures to prove it.

For Bill, of Longhurst Road, Blackley has been a member of Predators Gym based on Dutton Street, Cheetham for the past five years and goes each week to practise his grappling skills.

Now the former boxer has appeared on a calendar produced by the Valuing Older Pople (VOP) team, aimed at challenging negative stereotypes of older people.

And Bill's image has also gone up on billboards around the city aimed at encouraging others to take his lead in having an active life.

Bill, a former local government administrator said: "I go every Tuesday and you learn a range of wrestling skills, including grappling which is very vigorous.

"I just do it because I like it and it is a great way to keep fit. Instead of going to an aerobics class where there would be very few men, I choose to do this instead."

Bill is no stranger to exercise, having been a bantam-weight boxer while in the Royal Navy during the 1950s.

He said: "I have always kept fit. I only weigh about seven pounds more now than I did when I was boxing all those years ago and it’s just about keeping your body fit.

"The exercise is quite tough as they don’t mess about at the gym and I do bruise a bit.

"It’s not like judo or something where you get belts, I just do it because I enjoy it."

The VOP project has been running since January 2005, when it first set up a calendar aimed at challenging stereotypes and showing old people living full and active lives.

Since then, the project has done many events to promote active ageing, including organising a Full of Life festival aimed at celebrating the role played by older people in their communities.