Weymouth legend Dickie Borthwick, known as Britain's oldest footballer, has been nominated for a prestigious award.

83-year-old Dickie has made the final shortlist of ten people vying for the Active Agers category in the Amplifon Brave Britons Awards 2020.

The Active Agers award will recognise an individual aged 60 or over whose attitude and approach to ageing is an inspiration to us all. They could be someone who has achieved significant success in the fields of sport, the arts, business, education or science and technology, or anyone who has accomplished a remarkable feat later in life.

To hear that he had been nominated, let alone had made the final 10, was a surprise to Dickie, but a welcome one after a difficult year.

He said: "This is something special, to get to the final 10 out of 50 is good to hear.

"I'm very very pleased about that, it's been a while since I had anything to really make me ecstatic about so this is great, especially after being in lockdown for so long.

"I have coped with lockdown by finding things to do to stay active. I also have a musical background and I can spend hours and hours doing music. I have missed a few things like karaoke on a Friday night. I have missed it definitely, it's been a bit of a blow.

Dickie has featured in Deliveroo adverts on TV during lockdown, where he was seen dancing around and sliding down the stairs. Asked whether he considers himself an 'Active Ager', he said: "I'm highly delighted to be involved with the last ten, obviously someone has seen something during lockdown to nominate me.

"I have tried to stay active, looking after a house on your own and doing everything yourself keeps you quite active, and doing a little bit of exercise to keep the old muscles going."

Nicknamed The Tank, Dickie has played in around 1,600 matches and scored more 400 goals in a career spanning nearly 70 years.

Retired engineer and grandfather of five, he began playing aged 12 for Invergordon Academy in the Scottish Highlands and went on to play for Ross County.

Dickie reached the selection stage out of about 50 nominations in the Active Agers category chosen by the public from around the UK.

Four finalists will be selected in each category and the winner will be announced in October. Falklands War hero Simon Weston will chair the judging panel.