PERSHORE Air Cadets has celebrated the reopening of its unique indoor rifle range at with 15 members receiving their Marksman badge.

The range, at the groups headquarters at Pershore High School, was closed for six months while it was brought up to the latest RAF standards and officially reopened for us by the cadets shortly before Christmas.

The new range was such a success 15 cadets reached standards ranging from Squadron Marksman, to Regional Marksman after just a few weeks of practice and one to one coaching.

Commanding Officer Steve Pritchett said: "Safety is our prime concern here, and when new RAF standards were drawn up for indoor ranges we immediately implemented them.

"This meant the cadets had to rely on using ranges as far away as RAF Cosford, which made it difficult to keep the marksmanship training program consistent.

"Getting our own range re-commissioned has seen shooting coming back as a weekly activity, and with the coaching from the trained range officers we have seen the standard of marksmanship increase rapidly."

The cadets are now looking forward to competing in regional and national shooting competitions.

To find out more about the RAF Air Cadets, who are 13 and over and meet twice a week, contact Colin Bear on 07730 919545.