A CLAY pigeon enthusiast has been honoured for a remarkable 70-year membership of his local gun club.

John Thompson officially joined the Sutton and Thirlby Gun Club at the age of 16 and is still involved with the same group today, at the age of 86.

Mr Thompson, from Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, near Thirsk, took up shooting with his brother when the gun club was based a couple of miles away at Lake Gormire, at the foot of Whitestone Cliff.

He has maintained his passion for clay pigeon shooting for all those years, with the exception of a few years when he took up motorcross, involving scramble racing on off-road motorbikes.

“I had a bit of a stroke in April - and I think clay pigeon shooting probably helped my recovery,” he said.

“It is a sport I’d recommend to everybody - and there are more and more clubs about here now.”

The club made a surprise presentation to Mr Thompson to mark the 70-year milestone following the annual dinner, when he was presented with a sculpture of a pheasant made by a local artist.