A MACCLESFIELD man mountain who strutted his pectoral stuff in a novices' body building competition two weeks ago has ended up being crowned Mr Great Britain!

Superman Andy Taylor, 25, is 6ft 1in and weighing 19 stones has a 36in waist with 30in "show-stopper" thighs and a 20in arm circumference and is most definitely a man you wouldn't want to mess with.

BUT this gentle giant - who gorges on a turkey breast and a jacket potato an hour when doing his eleventh hour training - has used his extraordinary bulk to beat off all competition from England, Scotland and Wales to be given one of the sport's highest accolades.

He said: "Now when people say to me 'who do you think you are? Mr Great Britain?' I can turn around and say 'yes, I am actually'."

The industrial lawn mower engineer, from Canal Street, Macclesfield decided to enter the novices' section of a competition in Kidsgrove two weeks ago to test the water of his abilities and the judges were blown away by his strength and proportion.

Andy said: "I was really nervous at first because I like training but it's a bit gay having to wear trunks but you've just got to do it."

Following on from his success in Staffordshire Andy was selected to compete at Mansfield the following day - where he turned up late.

He said: "I really wanted to enter one category but they are really tight on time and I got there too late."

"They said I couldn't enter but then a load of people turned up late so the judges took one look at me and put me in the top two - which automatically qualified me for Mr Great Britain."

By this point the crowds were getting bigger and bigger and had gone from the 200 at Kidsgrove to 3,000 at the Nottingham Royal Concert Hall where Andy competed on Sunday, October 2.

He said: "I was nervous in front of the small crowds so by the time I got to Nottingham I was scared to look into the crowd. I did at one point and thought 'look at that!' there was thousands of them there."

After a nerve-wracking morning session Andy was one of the chosen five selected to parade on the evening for an even bigger crowd.

He said: "I did the line up and the set poses and then they started saying so-and-so had finished fifth, then it went down until I thought there is only me left and I've won."

Andy's mum, Michelle Taylor, 42, of Cedar Grove, Macclesfield, said: "He is one awesome sight - he has just blown us away and we are all over the moon."

She said: "He used to be skinny when he was younger but he liked the lifestyle of no smoking and the physical exercise of training and they took him on at Dave Frame's gym because they saw his potential."

The secret of Andy's success, as with most great men, is the support of a great woman in the background.

Rosie Cartlidge, 21, from Stoke is tiny in comparison to her sweetheart's overbearing physique - she is only 5ft 2in and a petite little thing weighing in at 8½ st.

Andy said: "I split up with my girlfriend of six years and then started going out with a girl who stopped me from training, but when I met Rosie I got back to competition weight and started training again.

"She's put up with a lot over the last 20 weeks as I trained as I've not been able to drink but she's been great.

"I could not have done it without Dave Frame, who is a former Mr Britain, and Phil Louis, my dietician, who is an ex-Mr Universe - he really put me through my paces."