George Digweed made an impressive start to the new clay pigeon shooting season by claiming three gold medals in South Africa.

Multi world and European champion Digweed, who is based in Wittersham, won the South African Grand Prix, the Pan-African Compak and the Pan-African FITASC Championship, achieving a world-record equalling perfect score in the process.

The Compak is a possible test event for the 2016 Olympics – a discipline in which he is ranked world No.1. He showed why, by recording a perfect 200 out of 200 score achieved only once before – by Digweed himself, in 1997.

Digweed said: "It’s always difficult coming from the game shooting season to competitive shooting, so a good win early on is always a must.

"The sport is in an incredibly healthy position now, with competition right across the field, so to win three tournaments on the bounce, and to win both Pan-Africans like I did, is fantastic. The 200/200 is one of the best achievements of my career.

"I’ve competed many times here in Africa, and it’s a place with many happy memories for me. This is another one to add to the collection."