Meet the man believed to be Britain's oldest steeplejack - still carrying out repairs on church spires at the age of 75, including Salisbury Cathedral.

Chris Milford's most recent job involves scaling the 213 foot spire of The Church of Our Lady in Cambridgeshire this week.

He's been tasked with repairing any damage and loose stone work after the recent high winds and stormy weather in the area.

Even at his ripe old age, Chris is still a trusted pair of hands, and says while he is still physically able to do the job, he has no plans to retire anytime soon.

Chris, from Bristol, said: "When I got into rope access and conservation, I thought I'd be doing it for a few years and then I'd do something else.

"Now its 30 years on and I'm still working full-time - but I love the adventure of it, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Chris has been a rope access specialist for 30 years.

He does work for historic building conservation specialists WallWalkers, which is owned by his son Sam Milford, who followed in his footsteps.

The pair have worked together on several jobs across the country - including Norwich Cathedral's spire in 2020, which measures a lofty 315 feet high.

Now, at 75, Chris is still a great climber, and has retained the masonry skills to replace damaged stonework and fill in failed mortar.

He attributes his exceptional health and fitness levels to his active lifestyle - which includes, cycling, yoga, meditation and tai chi.

This week, he started the first phases of work on The Church of Our Lady's 213 foot spire.

The spire is highest point in Cambridge, which the local council feared was damaged in recent storms and high winds.

Chris says his age doesn't yet impact his ability to do a good job, and he plans to carry on his trade for the foreseeable future.

Chris, a dad-of-two, said: "I was an experienced climber in the early days, and a friend of mine asked if I could help with cleaning windows and sides of buildings.

"WallWalkers was a concept to begin with, and we would take on jobs as and when they popped up.

"Then we got into conservation and working with architects and it snowballed from there.

"The highest inspection I've done was at Salisbury Cathedral which has the tallest spire in Britain at 404 feet.

"My friend sold the business to my son Sam in 2015, and stuck around to help him out with jobs. I'm pretty much working full time still.

"Age is just a number - if you think you can do something then you can, if you think you can't then you can't.

"I've been doing this for so long its normal to me but I accept my muscles aren't as strong as they used to be, and I've lost some bulk.

"That's why I do other things to keep my strength up, like cycling, Tai chi, yoga and daily meditation.

"It also helps that I've never smoked and hardly ever drink. Diet is really important as well - I've been a veggie since 1974.

"We've just began the inspection phase on The Church of Our Lady and the spire needs some serious repairs.

"Its a big job, but I know physically I'm up to the task.

"I'm not looking forward to stopping and I think when that day comes it will happen organically - but at the moment I'm strong enough to do it."