A NEW boxing club has been launched in a coastal village with a view of giving children a safe space to let off steam and channel their inner Anthony Joshua.

The Old London Pit Boxing Club is now operating weekly classes within the Never Say Die pub’s function room, in Broadway, Jaywick.

The sessions run every Tuesday and Thursday between 5pm and 7pm for younger fighters, and from 7pm until 8pm for the more adult punchbag-hitters.

Funded by Active Essex, the club is currently free to attend and kitted out with high quality Boxing Bar equipment and led by trainer Aaron Ball.

Gazette:

The initiative has been spearheaded by the Jaywick Sands Community Forum and its vice chairman and secretary, Brad Thompson.

He said: “We have been looking to set up a boxing gym in Jaywick for ages, but we could never really find the space for it.

"But when Cheryl Mallion took over the Never Say Die pub as the new landlady, she agreed to let us use the hall.

“We’re doing this to help get the children off the streets by giving them something to do and it is about teaching them displine, respect and techniques.

“It is not just about fighting but some of the best fighters have come from deprived areas, and we already have some really good talent coming through.”

To find out more email Brad Thompson at jscommunityforum@gmail.com.