But by night, Anthony Peddle lifts more than three times his own bodyweight and has just been announced as a contender in the 2008 Paralympics.

Mr Peddle, 37, is paralysed from the waist down and has already taken part in five Paralympic tournaments. He won the gold in Sydney in 2004. Weighing only 48kg, he can lift up to 168kg (27 st).

Mr Peddle, of Candace Court, Duston, Northampton, was born with spina bifida and has never been able to walk.

He said: "You can't miss what you never had."

His sporting talent was discovered when he went to a disabled sports club as a schoolboy. He said: "One sport was weightlifting and I had a go and won a competition, so the chairman at the time introduced me to the chairman for the British Weight Lifting Association. I went to see him and lifted a few weights and he said I had a future in the sport."

Mr Peddle made his Paralympic debut in Seoul in 1988. He was unable to defend the Gold medal he won in Sydney in 2000 at the Athens games due to a recurring shoulder injury but he said he was now back to full health and steadily climbing back up the rankings.

He said: "I am always competing and I train three times a week. To be selected for the Paralympics you have to rank in the top six in the world based on a series of competitions over the last few years."

Mr Peddle said his day job, as a tax officer, was mainly computer based, so it gave him a chance to rest his arms. He said: "Everyone at work is really proud of me and really excited for the competition in September.

"It's been an honour to represent Britain at every Games I've been to and this time it's just the same.

"It would be great to get a medal in Beijing. This will be my sixth Paralympics but the last few years have been really tough with injuries so I will just go out there and try my hardest."