He has been a pig farmer, a racing driver, a haulier and run a mobile fish and chip van, but now Ken Walker can add writer to the list following the publication of his first book at 76.

Mr Walker said he has had a “good response” after producing the first part of his autobiography, Nothing Easy, charting his life from 1935 to 1977 and the age of 42.

And most of his life has been spent in Wharfedale, and in particular Ilkley, where he ran a successful haulage firm during the 1960s and 70s.

“I began writing the story in 2009, inspired by my friend Beryl being asked by her daughter Shirley, to write down the romantic account of how her parents had met,” Mr Walker said.

“Shirley’s father, Beryl’s husband, had died many years before and there was a gap in their lives which needed filling.

“This turned my thoughts to my own story. My mother had passed on not long before and it was time for me to record matters for posterity.”

Born in Masham, Mr Walker spent his childhood in North Yorkshire and the Fens before returning to Yorkshire after his National Service.

Living in Burley-in-Wharfedale and Ilkley, he had a range of jobs including rearing chickens and pigs and driving buses for the Samuel Ledgard company.

He then set up his own business with a tipper lorry and other wagons, as well as taking time out to become a racing driver across the UK and Europe on bikes and cars including Minis, Chevron B16s and Brabhams.