A COTSWOLDS shooting school has been voted one of the best in the country.

The Ian Coley Shooting School based in Andoversford has been nominated by members of the public in a nationwide search for the best shooting grounds in the UK.

The shooting ground is the only one in Gloucestershire to have been awarded Premier Plus status by the Clay Pigeon Shooting Association (CPSA).

Over the past 40 years Coley has grown his business from a small shop in Cheltenham into one of the best purpose-built shooting venues in the country.

“The amount of investment and the standard we’ve taken it to is significant,” said Coley.

“We’ve put over £1million investment into traps and developing numerous different shooting positions and targets.

“We also have things like netting to protect people in the walkways and the only other shooting ground in the UK that has that is Gleneagles, which shows you the standard.”

While developing his business, Coley has also coached some of the best shooters in the country and has been responsible for guiding two British Olympic gold medallists – Richard Faulds (Sydney, 2000) and Peter Wilson (London, 2012).

He stepped down from his role as double trap coach for British Shooting two years ago but still misses being involved at the top level.

“I am missing it,” said Coley. “Whenever there’s a major competition on I watch all the results come in.

“I enjoyed my time with British Shooting; it was wonderful thing to be a part of.”

Though Coley looks back on his time coaching for British Shooting fondly, his shooting ground is his focus now and his passion for it seems as great as ever.

“In 2012 we won the Shooting Ground of the Year Award,” he continued. “We get people visiting us from all around the world.

“It’s a sport everybody can do from age 10 to 90, from all walks of life. It can just be for fun or you can take it to Olympic level.”

Coley remains the only person other than an athlete to be awarded an MBE for involvement in shooting.