HOLMES Chapel Boxing Club has won the backing of Cheshire’s police and crime commissioner David Keane.

The club launched in January to give young people a safe place to practice their boxing skills.

It was set up following concerns raised by Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School about the dangers faced by year 7 and 8 students who were organising unsupervised boxing matches in local parks after school with no protective headgear.

The club is led by experienced boxing coach and Holmes Chapel resident, Kevin Brownlow, who wants to tackle anti-social behaviour and help young people achieve their goals.

It is based in Goostrey, and is aimed at 10 to 16-year-olds, but also runs non-contact sessions for six to nine-year-olds.

Since its launch the club is proving popular with young people in the area, and thanks to funding from Mr Keane hopes to grow its membership.

The grant awarded to the club by David Keane from his Safer Communities Fund will be used to buy new equipment, including punch bags and a boxing ring.

David said: “We’ve seen the success community boxing projects in other areas of Cheshire have had on reducing anti-social behaviour and making our communities safer.

“Boxing clubs give young people somewhere to socialise with their friends and provide structure and discipline to stop them getting caught up in trouble on our streets.

“I am pleased that my Safer Communities Fund can support Holmes Chapel Boxing Club, and I hope the funding leads to more local residents embracing the project.”

Kevin Brownlow, head coach at Holmes Chapel Boxing Club, said: “After the initial launch it became clear how much interest and demand there was for a local community boxing club.

“The support of the commissioner and his Safer Communities for Fund has been amazing and will be very helpful in expanding the support we can offer.

“As a group of volunteers, it is great that the PCC recognises our club and supports what we are trying to do in the community.”

Holmes Chapel Boxing Club is one of nine projects across Cheshire which have recently received Safer Communities Funding to support crime prevention or meet the aims in the commissioner’s police and crime plan.