Shooter Tom Brown, from Woolley, has earned his first Great Britain call-up after being selected to compete at the European Championships in Greece next week.

The 26-year-old will fly out on Wednesday to compete in the ‘compak sporting’ category after making the grade following a series of qualifying events.

Tom said: “It’s my first cap and I am chuffed to bits. “I didn’t think I was going to make the squad so when I got the phonecall it was a great feeling. “It’s the biggest event I’ve ever competed in by far.

“All three of us in my category from GB are new caps so we don’t really know what we can achieve yet. I will be going there with my fingers crossed for a medal. It will just be a case of getting used to the set-up there, and the heat, and making sure that I do myself justice in the event.

“If I shoot as well as I can do, then I can’t ask for more than that and my best should be quite competitive even in such a high-quality event. I am really looking forward to competing against the best in Europe and it will be a massive learning experience for me.”

Brown – who is a heavy plant operator for Yorkshire Water – comes from a shooting family as his father and grandfather competed in the sport as does his sister Rebecca. He said: “Shooting has been part of my life and my families’ lives for as long as I can remember, but I have actually been doing it for about 11 years. My dad took me to shoot at a club in Barugh Green when I was a teenager and I’ve been involved in the sport ever since. 

“A lot of my friends shoot as well. I have been taking it really seriously in the last four or five years and to be called up for Great Britain is a really good reward for that.”

The disciplines of shooting in which Tom competes are not in the Olympics. He said: “It is a shame. The Olympic events are more highly regulated than my event, which I think requires more skill. 

“As the Olympics is not an option for me, the European Championships are one of the biggest possible events so to get there is superb. The only one that is bigger is the World Championships, which are later this year. That is my next target after the European Championships.”