By the time they reach the age of 70, many people think about slowing down and taking things easy. But not Jim Penny, who is eager to sample more of life's challenges. He spoke to JENNY SCOTT. . .

IT'S not every pensioner who can do 86 press-ups in a minute and whose hobbies include roller-blading around the parks of Padiham. But then Jim Penny, 70, isn't the type to spend his retirement relaxing in a rocking chair watching Countdown.

Jim's hobbies include potholing, mountain climbing, abseiling and white water rafting and, so dedicated is he to the pursuit of extreme sports, his family have nicknamed him Crazy Grandad.

"I've been very lucky that, for what I've done, I've picked up so few injuries," said Jim, who isn't about to start taking life easy just yet.

An ex-miner who worked down the Hapton Valley pit, Jim's introduction to his heart-stopping hobbies began back in 1950 when he joined the newly-formed Burnley Caving Club at the age of 16.

"I saw the advert in a newspaper," he said, "and, because I was a miner, I was used to being underground.

"Potholing appealed to me because I liked the idea of going where other people have never been before.

"There are lots of unexplored caves and I wanted to see these things other people have never seen. One of the best areas for caving is around the Yorkshire Dales and that was where we used to go."

And the thrills came thick and fast. In 1971, Jim became the only person to make a solo trip into the 570ft deep Penyghent Pot -- at that time the deepest pot in England.

He said: "I did it in four-and-a-half hours with five ladders and a 200ft rope."

Two years later, while on a cave dive, Jim actually discovered a whole new cave, which he named Baker's System after a friend.

However, the thrill of caving still did not sate Jim's appetite for thrills and, in the early '80s, he found a new passion -- climbing.

He said: "The climbing started when a lad joined the caving club who enjoyed that kind of thing. He would take us out climbing and we would take him out caving."

Jim loved the physical challenge of climbing.

And his new hobby didn't exactly lack excitement. While climbing in the Italian Dolomites with three friends, Jim was struck by lightning.

"We got help up on the climb and it was dark by the time we got to the top," he said.

"We managed to abseil a little way down, but it became too dark to see, so we sat on a 10 inch ledge to wait until morning. I was getting cold, so a friend gave me one of those foil blankets to wrap around myself. Then this storm blew up and I've never heard thunder so loud in my life.

"The lightning struck, crackled through my blanket, hit my exposed leg and threw me off the ledge. Fortunately, we'd tied ourselves on, so I was able to climb back up the rope, but I lost the use of my leg for about nine hours. I was hopping about when we abseiled down the next morning."

Caution, though, is not a word in Jim's vocabulary and the experience did nothing to dampen his adventurous spirit.

Soon he was back to his crazy ways -- jumping off bridges before the words "bungee jumping" had even been invented.

He said: "My mates suggested we jump off Reed Viaduct, but when we got there, none of them would do it, so I said I would."

Although Jim claims he wouldn't repeat such a hair-raising escapade these days, he has plenty of others lined up.

"My son's just bought a jet-ski which we're going to take to Southport to try out," he said.

He also enjoys rollerblading in the local parks and going climbing with his two granddaughters. It was while on one of these climbing trips Jim encountered a famous face. He met Hunter, from the TV show Gladiators, at Leeds climbing wall.

"He got halfway up the wall, but he couldn't get any further," recalled Jim. "Then I had a go and climbed all the way to the top. They couldn't shut me up afterwards -- I'd beaten Hunter the Gladiator!"

Such triumphs aside, however, Jim is keen to encourage anybody who wants to get involved in climbing to contact his club -- Barden Climbing Club -- and give it a go.

"Unlike most sports," he said, "climbing is an activity people can keep doing for much longer. You have your ups and downs, you have your good days and bad days, but it's always a good laugh."

To find out more about climbing or caving in the area, call (01282) 774551.