A WORLD-renowned opera singer has added another string to his bow and been selected for the county's archery squad.

Ian Storey has enjoyed a glittering career as a tenor and performs all over the world- but on the side he has taken an interest in archery.

He lives near Leominster and regularly shoots with the Bromyard Bowmen club.

He has just been asked to shoot for the Herefordshire archery squad at the Regional Inter-county meet in September at Lilleshall National Sports Centre in Shropshire.

Mr Storey said: "I was a bit surprised. I said to one of the other guys on the squad- 'What- is there nobody else around?' It is nice to be asked."

Mr Storey first picked up a bow and arrow when he was at Loughborough University but it wasn't until he tried his hand at it again a few years ago that the hobby really began.

Unfortunately he injured his back while in Venice and could not continue until about ten months ago when he was able to start again.

He said: "I shot with the Bromyard Bowmen. I started getting better and then I won a couple of the club's competition.

"In February I went to Strasbourg to sing for a couple of months. They have a very good club there and a top coach."

The coach trained him further and when he came back he had become even better. He now practises as often as he is able to- including when he is singing abroad.

He said: "It is a dangerous sport. People think of bows and arrows with suckers on the end sticking them to the kitchen window.

"When the arrow leaves the bow at 240 feet per second- that is quite a speed and you pull at 42 pounds of pressure to release the arrow."

Bromyard Bowmen is the only club in Herefordshire to have a clubhouse and indoor shooting range.

Wheelchair archer Vicky Jenkins is a member of the club and is in the GB Para-Archery squad.

Prior to his opera career Mr Storey studied design at Loughborough Uni- this summer he designed and made new target stands to replace the club's ailing ones. They are used for all club practice/shoots and open competitions.

Mr Storey will be going to America later in the year to sing.

He said: "I would like to add I don't sing the opera William Tell- it is not in my repertoire."