A sportsman from Oxfordshire has been honoured by the Italian city of Venice for his commitment to a traditional form of rowing.

Richard Norton, 64, is chairman of the City Barge club, based near Donnington Bridge in Oxford - the only club in the UK to practise Boga alla Veneta, Venetian-style rowing where the participants stand upright and paddle with 14ft oars.

The club is twinned with the Querini rowing club in Venice. Five crews went to Italy to take part in the Long Row through Venice, a procession of 3,360 rowers in 980 boats through 30km of canals, finishing in the city's famous Grand Canal.

Bruno Mascaregna, an Olympic gold medal-winning canoeist, presented him with a hand-painted glass cup, based on a 1460 design, in the presence of Venice's deputy mayor.

Mr Norton, a manufacturing firm director, of Stanford in the Vale, said: "It's just fascinating. You can get incredible control over the boat and easily see where you're going. It's a delightful thing to do on the Thames and the Cherwell."