Clay people are keen to mould new young stars

Monday 19th May 2008, 2:29PM BST.

Reporter Aaron Scoones is shown the ropes of shooting by James Rouget. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0580905)

‘HAVE you shot before?’

‘You could say that. I’m the police’s firearms officer.’

Such went the response I got from another guest at the Guernsey Clay Target Shooting Club’s open day at its Portinfer range on Saturday. The person in question was Sergeant John Tostevin.

But how was I to know? Whenever he appears in the paper, kitted out doing some firearms exercise, his face is always blurred. Despite this faux pas, I had a tremendous time.

I have vague recollections of shooting clay pigeons on a friend’s farm when I was a kid back in Kent. But to all intents and purposes, I am a beginner. When it comes to guns, I’m more Debbie Harry than Dirty Harry.