Businessman Freddie Sandy may be 80 years old – but he wasn’t going to let a bit of snow stop his regular game of tennis.

More than a little — actually three inches of snow that covered the shale court at his home in Rowley Park, Stafford.

But Freddie was so determined not to miss a game that he recruited a couple of other family members to help him clear the court on Tuesday.

To get rid of the snow they tried a leaf vacuum, a leaf blower, a brush and then settled for scraping it off with wooden boards.

Freddie, who ran a string of restaurants and cafes in the county town, said he still loved playing tennis despite being an octogenarian.

He has had the court for 30 years and plays through the winter.

“We never usually have too much of a problem with snow. This is the worst I have known. We had more snow again yesterday but we are determined to clear it again and get another game in.

“We managed to play after clearing the snow first time around and had a friendly but competitive family game. People come from all over the area to play on my court,” said Freddie.

His great nephew Ben Sandy, who helped with the snow clearing, said: “He was determined not to miss another game of tennis because of the snow, so he, my cousin and I spent two hours in temperatures of -9C (16F) scraping three inches of snow off his shale tennis court so we could enjoy some exercise and fresh air after four weeks of snow.

“We worked hard and proved Uncle Freddie’s life long ethos that if you work hard enough you can achieve anything.”

Freddie started the Wimpy chalet in Main Road, Milford, in 1964.

It is the oldest Wimpy takeaway in the country. The family also run the Soup Kitchen in Stafford town centre.

“I am still trying to retire, but I still take an interest. I love going in to see all the customers,” said Freddie.