A SOUTH Lakeland man has been enjoying calling the shots over the likes of Andy Murray, Roger Federer and co during Wimbledon fortnight.

Andrew Butcher, of Underwood, Kendal, has been officiating at his ninth competition at the All-England Club from the best seat in the house, as he has been working as a line judge.

Mr Butcher used to regularly play tennis around Kendal and Windermere during his childhood, and that opened the door for him to try his hand at line judging.

"I started in 2004 and at that time the Lawn Tennis Association were doing a junior player programme inviting young players to try officiating and see if they liked it," said Mr Butcher, 29. "If they thought you could do it they invited you back."

"With the junior player programme they fast tracked people because we already knew the rules of the game, so my first Wimbledon should've been 2005 but I was doing my A-levels at the time, so my first ended up being 2007."

For Mr Butcher, who recalls the 2013 Women's Final between Marion Bartoli and Sabine Lisicki as one of his biggest matches, it is the unique atmosphere at the competition that makes it so special.

"I think it's just a fantastic tournament," he added. "It's a great atmosphere, it's very traditional with the all-white kits and with the grass it's just very British.

"It's obviously better when it's sunny – we had a lot of rain last week – but it's just a fantastic two weeks."

But while the fans enjoy the Pimms and strawberries on Henman Hill, for Mr Butcher and his colleagues it is important not to let the occasion get to them.

"No matter what court you're on you've got to just see it as two players hitting a ball," he said. "You can't think about who's playing or what stage of the match it is, you've just got to do the job to the best of your ability.

"But while you're there to do a job you do take in the match as well – getting to see the best tennis players from one of the best views."