More than 150 clay pigeon shooters braved seven hours in driving rain on a windswept North Pennines moor to raise a remarkable £12,000 for charity.

The money will be presented to the support fund for the North-East Air Ambulance later this week.

Around £6,000 was raised in sponsorship and raffles by sportsmen from as far afield as Norfolk and Scotland during the 11th annual shoot held by Weardale Estates Ltd at Killhope on the Durham-Cumbria border.

This figure was matched by the estate's owner, Michael Stone, who travelled from his home in Gloucstershire to take part in the event.

Mr Stone's head keeper, Nick Walmsley, paid tribute to the enormous support they had received from local businesses in staging the shoot. Weardale farmer George Wearmouth drove to Nottingham to pick up ten electric clay traps. They were returned to the Midlands by local

garage owner Mark Watson. First prize in the shoot went to the Lancashire Moors team from Skipton, led by former Weardale keeper Andrew Scott. High gun, with most shots on target, was John Maughan, from Whitfield, near Alston, with 39 out of 50.

The booby prize went to local lads, Carricks Bullets, who admitted they had only come along for the laughs.