Meet Joe Bartley. He's 89 years young and proud of it.

This week he placed an advert in his local paper asking for a job - because he can't stand the boredom of being stuck at home in South Devon.

Mr Bartley believes there are thousands of people like him - who end up being sidelined because of their age - when they still have so much to offer.

One thing he wasn't proud of was having to rely on benefits to help pay his way.

So the former soldier who was a member of the Airborne Forces and served in Palestine just after the Second World War took the unusual step of seeking help from the public.

Tucked away in a local newspaper we found his ad - where Joe describes himself as "dying of boredom" and on the look out for twenty hours a week work.

Credit: ITV News

I would feel more like Joe - now I don't feel like Joe because I've got to depend on the Council for rent and everything else. You see when you're working for yourself you're more or less self contained. I don't know how to explain it any better really, you feel more individual and you're meeting people, you know making friends. > Joe Bartley, 89 and looking for work

He just wants the chance to prove himself in a new job.

It's his life experience that Joe hopes will encourage someone out there to give him a chance to show that age is no barrier to making a contribution in the workplace.

Joe and his wife. Credit: ITV News