A GUN dealer and shooting range owner has just completed an order destined for a former US president.

While Allan Henry is used to supplying country sports enthusiasts, the last thing he expected was to oversee the creation of two custom-made shotguns for George Bush Sr.

Mr Henry who owns the Bywell Shooting Ground, near Felton, Northumberland, said he almost dropped the phone when the voice on the other end told him who the pair of high-class Perazzi 20-bore game guns were for.

The man on the phone was a previous customer, Venezuelan businessman Gustavo Cisberos, who wanted the guns for a "very special friend".

Mr Henry said: "He asked if we could have them ready for a shooting party he was attending in Madrid in just three weeks.

"Considering an order like this can normally take up to a year to complete, we just had to ask who they were for.

"When he told us it was former US president George Bush, I thought it was a wind-up, but then remembered the kind of circles this chap moves in.

"While an off-the-shelf Perazzi can cost £15,000, custom versions are significantly more expensive."