Bradford bodybuilder Jason Barnett is keen to convey a stark warning to all budding bodybuilders in Bradford: "Stay away from performance-enhancing drugs and let nature take its course."

The 31-year-old, from Great Horton, has enjoyed a hugely successful bodybuilding career and will compete in the Yorkshire Bodybuilding Championships in Holmfirth on Sunday.

He believes there are many lessons in diet and discipline to be gained from bodybuilding and can be viewed as a positive role model in a sport which has often struggled to rid itself of the stigma of being synonymous with banned substances, such as anabolic steroids, insulin and growth hormone.

Barnett - a former British Natural

Bodybuilding champion and bronze medallist in the ANB World Championship in 1999 - remains fearful of the threat of such drugs, and with many widely available on the Internet, despite being highly illegal, he believes youngsters in the city may be tempted to use them for a quick-fix, as opposed to building their bodies up in a more natural way.

"Youngsters today are so image conscious and keen to look good all the time. It isn't just about what car they drive, or what clothes they wear, but how their body looks as well.

"There is therefore the temptation to use these type of drugs as a means of building their body up without engaging in any form of bodybuilding programme.

"These drugs are not only illegal, there are serious health issues associated with them and in some cases of their use, there have been fatal consequences," warned Barnett.

A number of high-profile bodybuilders have suffered serious lapses in health through taking performance-enhancing drugs - and Andreas Munzer and

Momo Benaziza lost their lives through diuretics.

Munzer tragically died in 1996 at the

age of 31 after using a drug that increased the thickness of his blood, which left him in a dehydrated state and with a disintegrated liver - which proved fatal.

Barnett, who stands at just 5ft 6 and weighs 11 stone, believes that such cases must serve as a warning to youngsters of the dangers of using such drugs.

He is therefore keen to promote natural bodybuilding through a lifestyle of dedication, discipline and proper diet.

Barnett, who eats eight meals per day, is the picture of fitness and good health - with the muscles to go with it.

He said: "I would like body-building to become a more mainstream sport and allow people to see how it can allow people of all ages and sizes to control their diet and overall state of fitness and health.

"The old adage 'you are what you eat' is pretty accurate and body building allows you to eat well but sensibly.

"Bodybuilding can allow you to develop muscles naturally and at the same time, burn off hundreds of calories.

"This can be applied to people of any age and gender who wish to be fit and healthy."