The Americans may have Pistol Pete, but Britain is smoking with its very own Deadeye George.

Brilliant George Digweed is a living sporting legend at clay-pigeon shooting, in fact he is the best shot the world has ever seen, but hardly anyone knows him.

George lives in Northiam, near Hastings, in a modest three-bedroom house with his wife Kate. Yet in his sport, he makes the likes of David Beckham, Nasser Hussain and even Lennox Lewis look ordinary.

For George has won a staggering eight world championships, four English titles, five European cups and broke four world records.

Second in yesterday's world sporting championships at Findon, he makes shooting look easy and is so impressive he can hit a fast-moving target without even looking down his gun barrel.

"It just comes naturally when you've been shooting for years," he told me, while failing to miss a single clay in my presence. "It starts with good hand and eye co-ordination and a will to hit the target. Then once you've cracked that, the rest is easy."

George, 36, was attempting to teach me the art of shooting. It was a thankless task, but at least I looked the part with my ear defenders and shooting jacket.

"It's dead easy," he insisted, while putting my left hand around the fore-end, underneath the barrel. "You put your cheek on the top of the butt, close your left eye, follow the clay as it's released and shoot the top left corner of the target."

My hands were trembling and heart pounding. I'd never held a gun before, let alone fire one. I was concerned my round of cartridges might harm one of the cows on the field in front, but was promised they were out of range. Now I know what the expression Mad Cow means.

With use of a remote control, George released the first clay from the trap. I followed it hurriedly in an arc-shaped motion and pulled the trigger. There was a loud bang and I was sent flying backwards.

"No!," was the immediate response from my esteemed trainer. "You leant back as you fired. You've got to keep your head forward."

My second attempt was slightly better and then I fired what George described as a "textbook" shot. The target, an inverted saucer made from a mixture of pitch and chalk, shattered into a thousand pieces. Was it too late for me to enter the competition myself?

It soon became clear I had enjoyed some beginners' luck and failed to hit another target until George offered me some help by calling when to fire. On both occasions, I blew the target out of the sky.

George has been shooting since he was a young boy when he used to kill rabbits with his grandfather.

He said: "It's been a natural progression. I started to compete at junior events, then got into the county's senior team, competed in the South of England championships and then started shooting for England."

George has since quit competing for England, because he wants to perform as an individual.

"When you're part of the team, you're answerable to people. You get told what time you must go to bed and stuff like that. I can't conform to such regulations."

Shooting has taken George all around the world, but the financial rewards are not as high as other sports. He said: "Any kind of shooting is not politically correct in this country, which is a shame because it's the most successful sport we've produced."