They are the soaring human towers that have become the pride of Catalonia over hundreds of years of carefully honed tradition.

Hundreds of people compete in the region every year to create the highest peak in a death-defying tradition stretching back generations.

So when the town of Vilafranca claimed victory in the sport’s most coveted tournament on Sunday, some may have been a little surprised to find a pensioner from south-east London at the base of the “castell”.

Thousands packed into Tarragona’s old bullring to watch the historic event on Sunday for the Concurs de Castells tournament.