ONE of the county's favourite and most successful sportsmen has announced he plans to ride-off into the sunset and leave the area for good.

Olympic champion Leslie Law is due to quit Britain altogether and move to America after he and his long-term partner, fellow equestrian Trina Lightwood, split.

The 40-year-old, who is still based at his training centre in Naunton, near Upton-upon- Severn, will make the move along with his beloved horse Shear L'Eau on which he rode to fame at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He said he had been thinking about taking the step for a while and was moving to Ocala, Florida, but that it would not prevent him competing for Britain in the 2008 Olympics.

Leslie Law shot to national fame when he scooped an individual gold medal in the three-day event at the games and a team silver.

He was the first Briton to receive the accolade for 32 years and was received with praise and admiration when he returned home to Worcestershire and its thrilled residents.

Since his success, the Hereford-born rider has been awarded an MBE and has continued a huge amount of charity work in the area - including selling a pile of champion horse Shear L'Eau's dung that raised £760 for hospices in Hereford and Worcester.

It is still unclear as to whether he and Trina will sell their home and training centre or rent it when he jets off.