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A former Welsh Strongest Man has become world champion at arm wrestling – and declared: “It’s not just holding hands.”

Dean Bolt, 45, from Abercarn, came top out of 350 arm wrestlers from around the world.

He said: “It’s all about from your wrist to your fingertips. Your arm size doesn’t matter, your body weight doesn’t matter.

“It’s the strangest thing, you have two people effing and jeffing and trying to rip each other’s arms off and as soon as the match is over they’re hugging and kissing.”

Dean travelled 280 miles to compete in the left-arm 105kg+ category for heavyweight players.

He has now scooped the top spot at the championships in Dieppe, France, after training for five years.

He said: “They’ve got to really enjoy pain because the first two or three years you’re in a lot of pain all the time because it’s when your bones are calcifying and hardening up and you spend a lot of sleepless nights holding your arm.”

It comes after Dean was previously named the UK Highland Games Champion and Wales’ Strongest Man.

He said: “The stars aligned nicely if I’m being honest. I was hoping to get in the top six, that was my plan.”

The event is for amateurs, so no prize money is awarded.

Arm wrestlers from around 30 countries take part in the competition, which is split into two sections -including one for those who have not lost a match and another for those who have lost a single match.

Players who lose twice are knocked out of the competition.

Dean said: “If you get into the final with a loss and I haven’t lost, I have to beat to you once and you have to beat me twice.

“So I went through on the A side with six rounds and the longest match I had was three seconds.

“I was lucky enough to have all my matches being really quick – I probably pulled for 12 seconds in total to get to the final so I wasn’t tired.

“The training was difficult because you tend to train between seven and 14 times a week.

“You’re not building your muscle up, you’re trying to strengthen your tendons and your joints so you can train more often.”

The championships have strict rules such as table size and where the opponent’s knuckles can fall on the cushioned mat.

Dean said: “People think it’s fat men sat in pubs, arm wrestling very badly.

“It’s a hyper competitive sport – there are elite athletes there. You have a standard arm wrestling table.”

Dean, whose partner is the first female head referee in GB for the sport, says the rule book is 30 pages long.

He said the sport has grown in popularity since lockdown with competitors in the British Championships growing from 28 people to 112.

He already holds the British title and now hopes to gain a hat-trick by winning the European championships in May.

Dean is also preparing for next year’s competition with support from his trainer – UK champion Paul Maiden.

“It’s the closest thing you have to a fight without being punched in the face,” said Dean.

“It isn’t a sport for ladies and gentlemen, but on the table it’s like mixed martial arts, just very small.

“Anyone who comes, they really enjoy it.”