Meet the all-action Yorkshire grandfather who still does martial arts every day at the age of 92

Lew Burja credits his long-lasting health to tai chi and kung fu. He started in his 50s after a bout of chest infections and niggling pain in his back. Forty years on and the grandad-of-three is fighting fit.

Lew, from Leeds, can still walk up to seven miles a day and can easily run to keep up with his grandchildren. He is also training to become a thriller writer to keep his mind sharp.

Lew said: "It's incredible what [martial arts] has done for me. It's a lifesaver. At my age I have friends dying all around me and this has kept me going. It's really important to keep moving - which is lucky because I can't stand still.

"Plenty of exercise is what keeps you going, but you have to do it carefully so you don't damage yourself. And it also gives you a really positive outlook on life. It's more than prevention, it's actually healing, as it's part of traditional Chinese medicine. And it's kept me fully compos mentis. I'm training to be a thriller writer."

Lew, a dad-of-two, enjoyed sports from a young age including rugby, football, boxing, weight lifting and judo, but in middle age began to suffer with a bad back. Lew also started getting repeated chest infections when he took a desk job as an accountant aged 50. Previously he worked in the navy and as a teacher. Unable to shake them off, he said he faced a future on antibiotics.

But he was captivated by watching a tai chi demo at an alternative fair he attended and decided to give it a go. So he started weekly two-hour sessions, also including a half-hour of kung fu. Tai chi is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for self-defense and health, known for its slow, intentional movements.

Kung fu refers to any skill achieved through hard work in a general sense, but it has been taken to represent a form of martial arts fighting in the Western world.

Lew says that, after just a few weeks of tai chi and kung fu, the chest infections cleared up completely.

He said: "I was fit and healthy. But these chest infections just kept coming back just a few months after I stopped antibiotics. For some reason I was really attracted to the slow movement and deep breathing of the tai chi. There's a specific sequence of movements you can do to manage certain health conditions. That's how I stopped getting the chest infections.

"I'd often had colds before starting tai chi and they stopped too. I have stopped headaches by pressing on a certain part of my hand and doing a deep -breathing exercise. It varies but I can walk miles every day. My wife and daughter now make me wear a watch with a button I can press so they can locate me.

"I often look after my granddaughter and her dog and I can keep up with them. A lot of people younger than me can't run at all. I don't fight in kung fu any more but I can still do the hits and kicks. My doctor said I was lucky but I told him it was my way of life not luck: people who are interested can look for my page on Facebook."

Lew said he keeps fit with his martial arts and still enjoys all his food and drink comforts.

He said: "Some people use a ch'ang ming diet, but I like red wine too much for that. I don't see the point in being healthy if you can't enjoy it. My wife and I love eating well at home and out in restaurants. I like a good red wine with a lamb roast or a good beef short rib, and I have a very sweet tooth. I love Lindor chocolate."