Former Royal Bermuda Regiment soldier Joshua Emmerson has traded his camouflage kit and rifle for a medieval broadsword and chain mail.

The 32-year-old Bermudian will be one of a 15-strong Scots team to take part in the International Medieval Combat Federation World Championships this week.

“I’ve always enjoyed history and the visually striking nature of medieval knights in armour, and my grandfather made wooden swords and shields for me and my brother,” Mr Emmerson, who lives in Scotland, told The Courier.

He explained that he joined the Scottish Knight League, Scotland’s national team for full- contact medieval tournaments, in June last year.

Mr Emmerson added: “I’d done loads of military training in Bermuda. I was a Lance Corporal in the Royal Bermuda Regiment, so I was used to physical training, fitness and combat.

“It was my dream to be clad in armour and fight so I was overjoyed to take part in the Tournament of Destiny at Scone Palace in August 2017, and then at Thunder in the Glens in Aviemore.”

Mr Emmerson, who has Scottish grandparents, said he hoped to use his training and experience to push the Scots to victory in the competition at Scone Palace, Perthshire, Scotland.

The IMCF Word Championships, hosted for the first time in Scotland, will take place from May 10 to May 13 with 31 countries and a total of 500 competitors taking part.