A Devon businessman who has been selected to represent Great Britain in his chosen sport has been given a boost by his local council.

Crispin Jones has been selected alongside local teacher Rachel Booton to represent his country at the stand-up-paddleboarding world championships in Abu Dhabi next month.

Now members of South Hams Council’s development management committee have given their unanimous backing to his paddleboarding school, which is based in two shipping containers in a car park on the quayside at Kingsbridge.

The business has just passed the end of its original two years permission, and came back to the council to ask for the go-ahead to carry on for longer.

The committee agreed to give the business five more years in the car park, hoping for a more permanent structure to take the place of the containers by then.

But Mr Jones will have to get his paint brushes out when he gets back from Abu Dhabi because councillors aren’t keen on the colour of his containers.

They have given him nine months to paint the orange structures grey.

However. Kingsbridge town councillor Martina Edmonds told the meeting that while the town council supported the proposal, it had some reservations about grey.

“No-one wants to see two battleships parked on the slipway,” she said. “We quite like the colour as it is.”

On the business itself, she went on: “This is further helping to put Kingsbridge on the map as a centre of excellence for stand-up paddleboarding.”

Members of the committee agreed that the quayside was a good location for what had become a very successful business.

“It brings a lot of value and a lot of fun to Kingsbridge,” said Cllr Lee Bonham (Lib Dem, Loddiswell and Aveton Gifford). “And I think we are being a bit picky by asking for the colour change.”