A HAND-GLIDING fanatic fulfilled his ambition in 1980, when he took a look at his home town from 2,000 feet above ground level.

Ian Rawson from Burnley took up hand-gliding in 1978 and achieved his furthest ever distance when he set off from Pendle Hill and reached Haworth.

In one attempt though, the 22-year-old, who worked at the Michelin tyre factory in Burnley, managed to land his glider a few yards from the first tee of Towneley golf course.

George Parker, who was on the golf course at the time, said: "I was just about to tee-off when I saw something out of the corner of my eye and the hand glider came in to land a few yards away."

Speaking in 1980, Mr Rawson said: "Since I took up hand-gliding it's been my ambition to fly over Burnley to see what the town looks like from the air.

"It actually looked a lot smaller than I expected."