SHARP shooter Richie Bray revealed he was delighted to be able to visit the corridors of power after he was invited to the Houses of Parliament.

The Poole para shooting star was one of 20 athletes to receive the special invitation to a parliamentary reception hosted by Pitching In and SportsAid, where attendees were able to network with each other as well as meet MPs.

Bray receives vital financial support as well as other development opportunities through sponsorship from Pitching In – a grassroots sports initiative set up by Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral – and SportsAid, and he revealed he was thrilled to attend such a prestigious event to mark another year of the partnership.

“It is a bit of an honour,” he said.

“You don’t really get to come into places like this very often and see all the history, you see people you’ve seen on TV.

“You also get to see people you haven’t seen for a long time, faces you recognise. It is always good to network with other sports, you learn off each other. 

“We go to events and see people you recognise. It is always nice because it relaxes you when you know people in new places.”

Bray also revealed just how important the funding is, with the money allowing him to replace broken equipment and fund trips to competitions abroad.

“SportsAid funding was a lifesaver this year,” he added. “I needed a piece of equipment replacing that had come to the end of its life and I was worried the credit card was going to have to come out, or the bank of mum and dad. It came just at the right time. 

“I am going to a competition in Gibraltar, I wouldn’t have been able to do that without that pot of money.”

Bray was joined by fellow para shooter Paul Barker for the trip to London, with Barker swinging by the south coast to pick up Bray for a road trip to the capital.

And Banbury’s Barker admitted he was straight on the phone to secure the day of work after being invited to the event, having attended last year to celebrate the work of SportsAid.

“I got an email about two months ago saying I had been invited down after being sponsored,” he said. “It was brilliant. 

“I came down last year so I had a bit more of an idea of what to expect, I wasn’t being thrown in the deep end! As soon as I got the invite, I was straight onto work saying I wouldn’t be in that day.

“The SportsAid funding makes so much of a difference. Just before it came in, my foresights broke on my rifle. Somebody lent me theirs but I was scratching my head thinking how am I going to get a new set because it’s £2-300 straight away?

“About a week later I got the email to say Pitching In would sponsor me for another year and it went from how do I do this to being a big weight off my mind. I wouldn’t be able to do it without it.”

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes and Coral, is proud to be championing the next generation of British sporting heroes by providing talented young athletes with financial support and personal development opportunities in partnership with SportsAid. Visit entaingroup.com to find out more