Edge Hill's very own shooting star

An Edge Hill University research officer by day and a shooting star by night, Kate Grime, a member of the Ladies Great Britain Shooting team, has brought home Gold from the Helice World Championships.

Helice shooting is viewed as one of the most challenging shotgun sports in the world and the 2009 competition, held just outside Porto in Portugal, was the first time that the team of three had competed in the category together.

A helice is a type of clay pigeon with artificial wings attached. Rather than launching straight into the air after ‘pulling', the helice follows an unpredictable flight-path, determined by air currents.

The full British contingent, competing in various shooting disciplines, was made-up of 17 people, eight team member and nine individuals, with backgrounds as diverse as an Olympic shooting coach, a court-room judge, a diamond-polisher and a farmer.

In total, the medal haul for the Great British team was three Golds and a Silver in the ladies team events and a Bronze in the Junior Individual category.

Kate Grime, 29 from Wigan said: "It is the first time that we have beaten teams like Spain and Italy by as big a margin as we did.

"The event was the most challenging that I have taken part in so far. Even the locals said that the ground that we shot at, Clube de Caca e Pesca, in Ovar, is the toughest ground to shoot at in the whole of Portugal. As a team, only the most experienced had ever seen targets so difficult to hit before.

"Our medal was presented during a fantastic gala dinner at a casino on the coast. We were treated to a huge banquet and a performance by Cirque de Soleil.

"It was a fantastic night, and as I stood on the podium in front of the Press and cameras, I tried hard to remember all the words to God Save the Queen!"