AMATEUR astronomers were over the moon when they had the chance to visit the house of legendary stargazer Sir Patrick Moore.

Several members of the Basingstoke Astronomical Society were invited to Sir Patrick's home in Selsey, Sussex, to hear about his work.

The group made the trip after the society's secretary, John Stapleton, received an invitation from the television presenter, who has worked on the BBC's The Sky at Night programme since 1957.

Mr Stapleton got to know Sir Patrick, who declined to be photographed, several years ago, when he gave talks to an astronomy society in Torquay, where Mr Stapleton lived at the time.

Mr Stapleton said: "I had an invitation to go and visit him and I asked him if some of the members of our society could come and meet him too, and he was quite happy to do that.

"Eleven of us went and spent the evening chatting to him about astronomy, and having a look around his observatory.

"We talked about astronomy, his music, his time in the RAF and about The Sky at Night. In person, he is just like the character he is on television."