A growing sport that has millions of players worldwide is coming to Gloucester.

Pickleball is a mixture of tennis and badminton that's making waves. The game was invented in the 1960s by three fathers looking for a summer activity their kids could enjoy. They modified badminton and tennis rules to create a new game. The game is played on a badminton-size court with a lower net.

Pickleball quickly became popular and today it is played by people of all ages around the world, including the UK.

A new club has recently been formed - the Gloucester Phoenix Pickleball Club - and weekly sessions start from Tuesday, February 13, at Oxstalls Tennis Centre, Longford. It will be play and pay to start with £6.50 a session.

The game is also played in other venues around Gloucestershire, including Winchcombe and at Cam and Dursley leisure centre.

The driving force behind pickleball in Gloucestershire is 56-year-old David Tyler, who is now the county's representative for Pickleball England.

David said: "I've been playing pickleball for about three years. I fell in love with it almost immediately. It's highly addictive. It's a fun environment and it's not massively hard on the body.

"A.game will take about 15 minutes rather than a couple of hours for a tennis match. One of the really advantageous things about pickleball is it's not really a power sport, it's much more about patience, placement and precision over power which basically means that ladies and men can play at very similar levels and young and old people can play at similar levels.

"From a social perspective it's a really excellent game. I've made new friends all around the country. I've become completely hooked on it.

"I moved up to Gloucester about 18 months ago and since I've been here I've been looking for an opportunity to start a club. It's been relatively difficult finding space to play in an evening but since Oxtalls have come back from the dead under Freedom Leisure they have some space and we've come to a mutual agreement about putting a club together on a Tuesday night.

"I'm a level one pickleball coach so I will be a coach on the night as well."

David said pickleball has been in the UK for about 10 years and it's really taken off in the past five years with around 500 locations in the UK where you can play and about 10,000 or so people playing on a regular basis.

"We're just hoping to add to that number by introducing it in Gloucester and getting new people on board," he added.

For logistical reasons, Gloucester Phoenix Pickleball Club will initially be for over-18s only.

But David said: "At Severn Vale School at Hardwicke they do pickleball as a PE activity. It's a great sport for kids as well. Anywhere there's a badminton court and net you can pay. The paddles and balls are relatively inexpensive to get hold of."

For more information, visit https://kahoodol.co.uk/gloucesterpickleball  or email gloucester.pickleball@gmail.com