A Pershore man took centre stage at a record-breaking pickleball competition.

Cliff Preston, 68, a retired decision analyst, played at the Skechers English Open at the Telford International Centre, and is the largest pickleball competition, a hybrid sport of tennis, badminton and table tennis, outside of North America.

The competition saw a historic number of participants, with around 2,000 players from 42 different countries taking part.

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Players competing ranged in age from seven to over 70.

Preston, a member of Cotswold Picklers, said: "My neighbours joined a club and told us they really enjoyed it, so we went along about 18 months ago and the club has been burgeoning ever since.

"There are now a lot of members and most days of the week we play pickleball in the Cotswolds.

"It’s my first English Open and it’s brilliant because the facility is wonderful and just watching all the play is great."

The English Open lasted seven days, and featured top professional players from the likes of America, Europe and Asia.

The event held singles, doubles, mixed, wheelchair, and junior categories.

Preston added: "This is by far the biggest tournament I’ve been part of and the venue is magnificent, and it all works as well despite the fact that there are so many courts and they’re so close together.

"Everything seems to be really well organised and everything works really well, so it’s just astonishing to see so many people enjoying it."