A STRONGMAN has smashed a world record previously held by a TV Gladiator.

Mark Haydock lifted massive boulders known as Dinnie Stones, weighing 333kg in total – the weight of four average men, and held them for 38.6 seconds in Potarch, Scotland.

Only a handful of people have ever been able to pick the stones up since legendary Scottish strongman Donald Dinnie first hoisted them from the floor in 1860.

The previous record was 34.5 seconds by James Crossley, who was Hunter in the 90s television series Gladiators, who set it earlier this year.

But Mark, 43, who lives in Samlesbury, said he even wanted to try to better his own record.

He said: “It was a great feeling to lift the stones and break the record.

“They are very heavy. One weighs slightly heavier than the other so you have to take that into consideration.

“The Dinnie Stone lift is becoming a lot more popular and it was a great day.

“I have two smaller stones at home to practise with which are made from Aberdeen granite and were given to me by a friend of mine up there, Brett Nicol.

“I had a blacksmith from Scotland cast the handles for me so now I can practise with them.”

The stones weigh 144.47kg and 188.02kg each.

Competing in powerlifting and strongman competitions, the father-of-two has more than 20 British titles, two European titles and 10 world titles.

He trains for three hours a day five times a week first got into lifting when he was 14.

Mr Haydock, who stands at 5ft 11inches and weighs 17 stone, wants to attempt to carry the stones across the bridge in Potarch, using an unconventional ‘neutral’ grip, holding the stones at the side of his body.

He said: “I hope to achieve this at some point, it’s going to be difficult but I think I can do it.”

East Lancashire’s other colossus, multiple World Strongest Man contestant Mark Felix, 48, of Great Harwood, carried the stones the full distance of a replica Potarch bridge at the Aboyne Highland Games in 2014.

He was the first man since Jack Shanks in 1973 to replicate Dinnie’s feat.