LEDBURY pensioner Ron Allen says you're never too old to enjoy making pottery, and he's proving the point by opening a new kiln in his home, at the tender age of 97.

Mr Allen, who lives in New Street, is no stranger to kilns and the potter's wheel, having first thrown the clay back in 1939, when he attended the then School of Art in Loughborough, which is now part of Loughborough University.

But Mr Allen couldn't finish his course, because of World War Two, during which time he served as an air crew technical instructor, especially with Liberator bombers.

But after the war he returned to the college in Loughborough and ended up teaching pottery there, up to and beyond the point it became a top university.

For most of his life, Mr Allen has never given up the desire to make pots and he said: "You are never too old! Anyone can do it, of any age. I recommend the clay!"

After he moved to the local area, Mr Allen had a calor gas kiln at Birtsmorton, and he later moved this kiln to his home in Ledbury.

But because he was finding the gas bottles increasingly difficult to handle, he has just switched to an electric kiln and is looking forward to making more designs for his relatives and friends.

Mr Allen, who sadly lost his wife Kathleen in January, after 70 years of marriage, said: "I do sell my pottery locally, but I've never been too good with the commercial side.

"There's some weakness in my system whereby I cannot see any commercial value in my work; but I do know there is some."