A BOXING club has been targeted by vandals for the first time in 20 years.

A coach at Barrow Amateur Boxing Club in Brook Street was left ‘shocked’ after discovering the club had been broken into overnight.

Jeff Moses, Barrow ABC head boxing coach, received a call from a neighbour on Monday evening informing him that the club had been broken into.

Mr Moses discovered the window had been ‘completely taken off’ and ‘smashed’ in a bid to enter the exercise gym.

He said: “A minimum of 90 kids go through this gym a week who all respect it.

“Because they’ve grown up around the gym and everyone knows about it, we don’t usually have an issue with vandalism.

“This is the first time it’s happened in 20 years.”

Mr Moses believes the perpetrator removed the window pane to enter the property later on in the night.

“I believe the window was taken off with the view of going back later on,” he said.

“There’s a lot of expensive equipment in there.”

Mr Moses said he was ‘shocked’ and ‘disappointed’ someone would target the club which is so well-respected.

“That gym is used and loved by so many people,” he said.

“It’s not just boxing - it’s football, rugby and fitness, and helps people gain a lot of confidence.

“So for someone to tarnish that, especially during a time when everyone is struggling at home, is just wrong.

“The person has let everyone down.”

Despite the vandalism, Mr Moses said the community had ‘come together’.

“All this has done is bring the community together, not apart, like the person probably wanted.”