THE Pennine Bowling Club for the visually impaired are on the hunt for new players, and long-serving member John Palmer is hoping they can recruit some more from Bradford.

They train in flat green bowling every Tuesday between 12 and 2:30pm at Wellholme Park in Brighouse, but will be moving indoors to the John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds on October 2 for the winter season.

Palmer was enthusiastic when speaking about the club and he said: "It was set up around 25 years ago and we have 20 members, alongside eight helpers, who can tell us where our woods ends up.

"It's one of the few sports visually impaired people can do and it proved a lifeline for me when I had to give up crown green bowling because of my sight.

"We have players from all over the county, places like Holmfirth, Huddersfield and Halifax, but apart from a couple of members from Cleckheaton, no-one really from Bradford.

"We welcome people of all abilities, male or female, and whether they've bowled before or not."

Palmer spoke about the opportunities on offer at the club, saying: "We often go to the Yorkshire Dales and meet up with the sighted bowling teams there.

"They love to see us and we are able to play with the aid of a piece of string down the middle of the green which acts as a guide.

"Although we're the only visually impaired club in West Yorkshire, we take part in a few national competitions. There was one in Weston-super-Mare in May and we'll be playing at an indoor one in Torquay this November.

"Unfortunately any new members can't take part in that one because you need to obtain a sight certificate, which takes a while, to see which category you fall into, as obviously some can see better than others.

"There is another indoor tournament next February in Nottingham which they would be able to compete in though."

Palmer is proud of the way that the club is run, although any extra money coming in would be welcome. He said: "Anything we do, we pay for it ourselves.

"We often hold events to raise money and we are a self-sufficient club but funding is something we need."

Anyone looking to join the club, help them with their fundraising efforts or simply find out more information should contact Palmer on 01422 321771.