Eldwick's Craig Noble has won the European Fire Fighters' Triathlon Championship.

The 33-year-old, who is based at Harrogate Fire Station, won a gruelling race at Duisberg in Germany in a swift 58min 57sec, a full minute ahead of his nearest rival.

Noble said: "I went to Germany to try and get a medal, so I was delighted to win. It was a highly competitive field and, as triathlons go, the course was fairly short, so it was really an all-out effort.

"I am proud to have won and it's great to be able to say I've beaten rest of Europe." Noble added: "The runner-up was a German, but my British team-mates came third, fifth and sixth so you could say it was a great all-round performance as well."

The triathlon, which consisted of a 750-metre swim, a 20-kilometre cycle ride and a five-kilometre run, boasted a 180-strong field and included entrants from fire and rescue services in every European Union country.

Noble hit the headlines last year when he was one of only 1,500 who qualified to take part in the World Ironman Triathlon Championship in Hawaii.

Prior to his career as a firefighter, Noble was a physical training instructor with the British Army.