A new world record for clay pigeon shooting has been set during a fundraiser atop Otley Chevin.
Martyn Shepherd shot 25 clays in under a minute to smash the previous record of 72 seconds during Yorkgate Gun Club’s annual Think Pink day.
The focus of the event was to raise money for the Leeds branch of Pink Events, which supports breast cancer charities.
Yorkgate owners Bob and Angela Agar were also delighted to support Mr Shepherd, from Cleckheaton, when he mentioned earlier in the year he would like to try the world record attempt.
Shooting instructor Mr Agar, who has been running the club for nearly 40 years, said: “I’m very proud of Martyn and very chuffed he broke the world record on his first attempt.
“He’d asked us about the record at the beginning of the year and we said we’d support him, and then we just practised and practised and got a team of rifle loaders ready.
“He’s only been shooting for a couple of years but he’s talented, and sometimes people just need the talent bringing out of them.”
Mrs Agar said the record-breaking success was the perfect complement to a successful day of fundraising.
She said: “We raised £3,460 and had 180 entries, from shooters around the county, for our clay skills competition, which was a huge response.
“We also got about the only sunny day of the summer, and a lot of people came along to enjoy our hog roast and ‘have-a-go’ stands. So to have one of our members also break a world record on top of that is really great, and he did it first time, in 57 seconds.
“Guinness World Records are currently verifying it, but Martyn had people there to witness it and provide written evidence, so it should be official soon.”
Otley’s Olympic torch bearer and potential future Paralympic swimmer, Danielle Bailey, was a special guest, and handed out prizes to the competition winners.
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