A BOLTON transplant survivor has added to his already bulging trophy cabinet by winning five gold medals at the European Heart & Lung Transplant Games.

Robert Hodgkiss was part of a 40-strong Great Britain team that competed at the event in Lignano, Italy, from June 11-16.

And, cheered on by his son Adam, the dad of two excelled, returning home with an impressive five golds across several events.

In the pool, he came out on top in the 50m freestyle, 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke & 40x50m freestyle relay. He was also successful on the track, picking up another gold as part of the 4x100m relay team.

The dad of two was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy in June 1996 after suffering a heart attack and a mini-stroke.

He underwent heart transplant surgery at Freeman Hospital in Newcastle on July 27, 1996 and was discharged in August, just before his daughter Bethany's first birthday.

Life for Robert, who was head boy at Turton High School and went on to train as a dentist at Newcastle University, has not been easy since he was given a second shot.

He continues to have three-monthly check-ups in Newcastle and will take immunosupressive drugs for the rest of his life.

Hand tremors are a side-effect of those drugs, meaning Robert had to quit his career as a dentist.

But he has retrained and now works as a palliative care physiotherapist at Bolton Hospice, while his family has grown, with son Adam currently studying for his A Levels at Turton.

And despite his medical problems, Robert has refused to give up on his sport.

He has competed in numerous British Transplant Games, taking part in the event in his hometown four years ago.

He also took part in the World Transplant Games in Hungary in 1999.

An official medal table for last week's event has not been produced yet, but Robert, who swims at Total Fitness Bolton and is a member at Bolton Harriers, says the British team should top it with more than 50 gold medals.

He said: “Whilst it was great to come away with the medals, the whole aim of the event is to promote the benefits of transplantation.

“The fact that over 200 people attending the games wouldn't even be alive without the gift of an organ transplant from a generous donor and their family.

“Whilst there is much debate about the opt-out system in the UK, there are still dozens of potential donors lost each year as their families refuse donation, even if they were on the donor register.

“So the key message is to talk about donation with your families, so they know your wishes. Even today one in three people still die on the transplant waiting list due to a lack of donors.”