Somerset visually-impaired bowlers 'excited' to represent England

Maurice Perry and Ron Homer will be attending the world championships

Two visually-impaired bowlers are preparing to represent England internationally.

Maurice Perry and Ron Homer, members of the Yeovil Bowls Club, will travel to Australia on 24 February to take part in The International Blind Bowls Association World Championships (IBBA).

They will have a string down the middle of the lawn and a guide to assist them.

"I love the game - it is great that I can get involved in a sport without too many adaptations," said Mr Perry.

He was introduced to the sport eight years ago, after he started to lose his sight.

Mr Perry uses muscle memory to throw the bowl into the right place

He said: "I very quickly got the bug for it.

"Now, I am representing my country in the world championships, it couldn't get any better for me."

Mr Perry will play singles and mixed pairs in the competition

In order for bowls to be played by a blind or partially-sighted player, a director is used.

A director is a sighted person who assists the player, they stand beyond the jack and indicate to the player at what angle and distance the bowl has rested from it.

"Once you have worked out the distance from the jack, you have to use muscle memory to make the shot," Mr Perry added.

"It is a whole lot of fun," he said.

Mr Homer is the reigning world champion

Four sight categories are going to be represented at the competition, B1 to B4.

Mr Perry is playing singles and mixed pairs in the B4 sight category, and Mr Homer is also playing both games in the B2 sight category.

Mr Homer said the competition will probably be his last one

Mr Homer is a reigning world champion and this will be his third year in the competition.

He said: "I am getting older now, so this will probably be my last one.

"I have never been to Australia before so I am really excited for the challenge ahead."