London, March 29 (Inditop.com) Gerry Burks, who has become Britain’s oldest father at age 74, feels that his astounding virility is thanks to his passion for bananas.

Burks, whose son Ryan was born March 12, said: “I eat lots of bananas and always have done – sometimes a couple a day. I don’t eat much salt and have home-cooked food. Maybe that’s what’s kept my body healthy”.

“I’m so proud. I feel like the luckiest man alive,” The Sun quoted him as saying Monday.

Burks is married to a woman who is nearly 35 years his junior. The couple already had one son together, six-year-old Daniel.

“Baby Ryan just has to make a little sound and I’m over there making sure he’s all right. I’ll ask her (wife Dawn) if there’s anything I can do to help, but she’ll tell me to go back to sleep.

“People might say things about my age, but I look after myself. I’m young at heart, don’t drink or smoke now, and Dawn loves cooking. Her pasta bake keeps me in good shape. I packed all the bad things up in the mid-1980s when my first marriage broke down,” he was quoted as saying.

The couple live in Louth, Lincs.

“We have a wonderful family and I feel like the luckiest man alive. Our family is complete now and I don’t think we’ll be having any more children – but who knows?

“I will be keeping myself healthy running around, helping (my wife) Dawn with the baby and looking after Daniel.”