At 68, many people are ready to put their feet up and enjoy the leisurely pleasures of life.

But Malcolm Mellor is not about to retire from the rat-race. Instead, he is embarking on a new career, having opened an antiques shop in Holt.

While others enjoy a Mediterranean cruise, tend the garden or simply savour a life of leisure, he is looking forward to a long stint of buying and selling.

Mr Mellor, whose two previous careers were in marketing and landscape gardening, is determined to take no notice of his age, and said: 'Sixty-eight is the new 50s.'

He said: 'I'm a lifelong collector - especially of pottery and porcelain. But it was really just a hobby.

'My background is sales and marketing, which I did until 2000, when I had a change of career and started a landscape gardening business called The Country Gardener.

'That was slightly different, but while I was doing that I gradually eased into the antique and collecting side.'

Mr Mellor, from Wattlefield, near Dereham, added that - after taking 'semi-retirement' - he had been speaking to his neighbour Tracey Grint about his desire to run an antiques shop.

Mrs Grint, who recently set up Moochi Modo interior design shop in Holt, encouraged him to 'go for it', and Watsons Estate Agents pinpointed a vacant shop at Manor Mews, Holt, that was soon to be up for grabs.

Mr Mellor opened Circa Antiques and Collectables on Good Friday, and said: 'I'm very positive about it so far. There's a trend for antiques shops closing, but I aim to buck the trend.

'I love interacting with people. But it's the buying that I enjoy and being one step ahead of the market.'

When asked whether he was tempted to simply enjoy his retirement, he said: 'Why do I need to put my feet up? Life is for living. There's always a new adventure. This is part of an interest that I've had for all of my life.

'I've done it now - rightly or wrongly. I think that I can bring my background of sales and marketing into the antiques market.'

And he added: 'Some of my friends think I've lost the plot. Others think it's an amazing challenge. While I'm still fit and healthy I want to make the most of my opportunity.

'It's not that I can't afford to retire, it's that I don't want to. What's the point? I've seen people retire at 65 and just switch off. That's not for me.'