TENNIS players in Droitwich had a smashing time as they marked the opening of their new clubhouse by breaking a world record.

Steve Worrallo and Allen Benbow took part in the longest ever rally by exchanging 24,696 shots, beating the previous record by 533.

Saturday's seven-hour slog generated £30,000 towards the £150,000 clubhouse, opened by former Wimbledon ladies champion Ann Jones.

"It hasn't quite sunk in yet but it still feels good," said 43-year-old Steve, captain of the club's A team.

"There were some dangerous situations - I probably hit a dozen bad shots but it just keeps you on your toes and keeps you focused. It was our first bash at it and the only real reason we got into it was to raise funds for the clubhouse and this was quite a dynamic way of doing it."

Steve and club coach Allen, 24, spent six months practising for the gruelling effort but had to raise their game after finding out they had been aiming for an old record.

The 17,000 shots target they were working towards was beaten late last year by a German pair who added 7,000 to the record. "We'd focused on 17,000 but then six weeks ago, we found out they had broken it. But we were still feeling confident," said Steve, who followed Guinness World Record rules in the attempt.

The record breaking formed part of an open day at the club, in St Peter's Church Lane, which was visited by a host of club members, dignitaries and local residents.

"There were lots of people here who hadn't picked up a racket before and quite a few took forms away and seemed keen to join," added Steve.

"Droitwich is a special club, I don't know of a friendlier one around and it's just great that it's now got a world record."