A north Norfolk mathematician turned author has published his first book at the age of 68.

William Brakes, of Seagate Road in Hunstanton, has always written as a hobby and - during his time as a mathematician - studied an English degree and later a masters.

His book of short stories entitled 'Fragments: naked and bright' is now available on Amazon, both as a paperback and an ebook.

'I write mainly for pleasure but the short stories accumulated and I thought this was worth making something of,' the grandfather said.

Dr Brakes retired, with his wife Jill, to north Norfolk five years ago, where he enjoys dedicating his time to his hobbies which include making bobbin lace and playing golf.

'I feel retirement is an opportunity where you can do all the things you wish you had done in the past and hadn't,' he said.

The couple had a caravan in Hunstanton and used to visit the seaside resort at weekends.

'I haven't looked back to be honest, it is wonderful here.'

During his time working at the University of Northampton as a senior lecturer and then director of taught programmes, Dr Brakes studied an English degree part time and completed a masters when he retired.

He said he found essay writing not too dissimilar from using his maths skills.

'I found it wasn't that different from maths, you had to make an argument, prove it and justify it.'

The grandfather-of-nine said he had also written two other novels which he would like to publish in the future.

He added his family played a big part in his books - telling him what they thought - and he always tried to weave in the personalities of people he knew.

'You might use bits of people but don't use the whole person.

'These stories particularly are character based so it's mostly the people I have met and the people I have encountered who provide the inspiration.'

The seaside scenery also provides a source of inspiration for the author but he said he would like to source more of his writing in the future from the beauty of the coast.

He described his newly published collection of 14 short stories as windows offering a glimpse into a world at a moment of crisis.

Each story could be read independently but there are links between the tales.