BLIND shooters from Blackburn celebrated a Sport England grant by striking gold in the British Blind Shooting Championships.

Last year the Blackburn Rifle & Pistol Club was awarded a £6,500 grant by Sport England for the purchase of specialist shooting equipment that permits blind and visually impaired people to take part in target shooting and a group of seven were identified as being most likely to develop their skills in time for the British Championships - and they didn’t disappoint in the championships.

Taking to the range as the A Team, the seven team members, together with dogs, helpers and drivers, faced competition from Truro and Helston in Cornwall, Aberdeen, Hereford, High Wyckam, and Buckingham.

Three of the team did their shooting on the Saturday and four of them on the Sunday and they finished the first day in the top three of their class, displacing other competitors with far more experience.

On the Sunday the remaining four were under pressure to do at least as well as their team-mates.

At the end of a tense day, the results were that the locals had taken gold, silver and bronze as well as fifth and seventh places in their class.

The three medallists were: James Coulton (gold medal and Trophy), Stephany Syston (silver) and Steve Illidge (bronze). Other team members were Jeanine Webster (5th), John Edwards (7th), Billie Davies and Bob Waller.

On the strength of their performance at the British Blind Shooting Championships the BARC 'A' Team have been invited to travel to Aberdeen in September to compete in the Scottish Blind Shooting Championships.

Meanwhile, at the Blackburn Shooting Centre the coaching team are now training the club’s B Team ahead of the North West Disabled Shooting Spring Meeting.

That event will be held in Blackburn in mid May.