A WAR veteran is approaching 75 years 'not out' with Rawtenstall Cricket Club.

Kenny Barnes, 85, also played more than 700 games for the club, despite missing three seasons while serving on board aircraft carrier HMS Glory between 1943 and 1946.

He recently gave up a role on the committee but still watches almost every Rawtenstall game.

He said: “I watched my first game as an 11-year-old in 1936 and started going down to watch the players practice and I fielded for them.

“I got into the third 11 in 1939 and played my first game for the first team in 1941, when a lot of the players had been called up to the war effort.”

Kenny, of Schofield Road, Rawtenstall, was called up when he turned 18.When he returned he started playing for the first team again and captained the club for a number of seasons.

He said: “The league could attract some world class players then,” he said.

“The best I played with were George Tribe from Australia and Vijay Hazare from India.

He finished playing for the first team in 1964, but was talked out of retirement to captain the seconds in 1970, and has also since fielded for the third team.

Kenny’s son Peter played for the club for 30 years and recently gave up a role on the committee, while daughter Pam is still on the committee.

His grandchildren Matthew Barnes and Dean O’Brien have recently broken into the first team to keep the family tradition going.