Matthew French, 27, claimed the overall High Gun in double trap at the European Grand Prix in Slovenia, one of a series of shoots that form part of the European Cup.

Matthew scored 135 out of 150 to make it a one-two for Great Britain as team-mate Sam Wethen, from Cheshire, finished just behind him against shooters invariably from the Eastern Bloc.

Matthew told The Thame Gazette that the victory was probably one of the most satisfying of his career so far.

"It was my first win abroad, " he said. "It's different from shooting at home. It was a good result."

Matthew, who lives in Ickford, has been competing internationally since 2002 when he was part of England's winning team in the Home Internationals against Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

He has progressed over the years to form part of the elite six-strong Great Britain shooting team, three of whom are currently competing in the Beijing Olympics.

Matthew, who has been clay pigeon shooting since he was 11, was part of the Great Britain team that recently did so well in the European Championships in Nicosia in Cyprus and another international event in Malta.

He is now looking forward to taking part in three qualifiers for the Great Britain team for 2009, the first of which will be in Dorset in three weeks time.

Asked whether he was setting his sights on London 2012, he said: "Without a doubt. That's got to be the goal. But there are a lot of things in between. Next year I would like to qualfy for the Commonwealth Games, which are in India. Next year I'll be fighting for that in next season's qualifiers."

But Matthew, who was schooled at Wheatley Park, near Thame, said clay pigeon shooters of Olympic standard have to be very dedicated with all the training and travelling that is required.

"It's tough to get into the team for the Olympics, they are full time shooters," he said. "It comes to a certain point when you have to decide whether to carry on working for a living or to take the plunge and go professional."