Peterborough's Paralympic gold medallist Matt Skelhon to be honoured with blue plaque at Whittlesey Rifle Club

The special plaque will be unveiled during a club open day held on Sunday (June 22), which will offer the chance to try target shooting for free. The event will take place between 11am – 4pm on the club’s range at Manor Leisure Centre in Whittlesey.

Skelhon will return to his former training base to meet members of the public and also witness the unveiling of the plaque.

The plaque commemorates Matt’s achievements in the sport of air rifle shooting, which include multiple World and European Championship titles and medals as well as the crowning glory, an Parlympic Gold Medal at the Beijing 2008 games. He followed that up with a silver and bronze in London four years later and has competed at five consecutive games while working towards a sixth in Los Angeles in 2028.

Matt- who was born in the city- began his journey to success at the club in 2006, while living in Stilton.

The plaque will be unveiled by the Mayor of Whittlesey and the High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire at 12:30pm to celebrate his extraordinary achievements and association with the club and town.

Matt said: “I am really excited and so happy to be recognised like this. I’m really looking forward to going back to the club and meeting back up with so many people from when I first started out.

"It’s really cool. When you’re competing, it’s easy to forget what it means to other people. To get this kind of recognition makes me very proud.

“The club has always been incredibly supportive of me. When I first started going there it wasn’t wheelchair accessible at all but they accommodated me really well and put in ramps to make it as accessible as possible straight away. So many people have continued to follow my journey throughout the years, it has been great.

“There are not lots of club still around and it it nice to see Whittlesey still going and raising the profile of the sport to get more people and more young people involved.

"It is such a great sport. It is so accessible to so many people and it’s a great thing for young people to get involved in. It teaches self-discipline and safety and anybody with any kind of impairment can still get involved, it’s so open.”

Whittlesey has had a rifle club in the town for well over 100 years. The club and drill hall were used to help train people (including the home guard) during the both World War One and Two.

Fenland District Council built the new range in 1975 and the club took over running it in 1978 to become a community amateur sports club.

The club is still seeking final reassurances from the council over its future after the council confirmed parts of its base at Manor Leisure Centre would be demolished.

Council support has been given to the club who are expecting to move into a a new improved building on the side of the redeveloped leisure centre.