A BOXING club on Oxford’s biggest estate says it is back to square one after a deal to find it a new home fell through.

The Blackbird Leys Amateur Boxing Club, one of the oldest organisations on the estate, has been hunting for a new base for the last few years.

It has been based upstairs at the Blackbird Leys Community Centre for the last 30 years but coaches say the room is just too small for the ever-growing club.

After an appeal in the Oxford Mail, the owners of the iKidz Activity Club at the Ozone Leisure Park got in touch to say they had a spare room which could be the solution to the club’s problems.

But head coach Tony Gibson said: “We went over and had a proper look at the place but unfortunately it had no changing facilities and anyone needing the toilet would have to go downstairs and walk through where the children were.

“It just wasn’t practical. So we are on the hunt again.”

The boxing club trains more than 50 people each week but currently has to dismantle all its equipment, including the ring, after every session.

The room also has no windows or shower facilities.

About 90 per cent of the young men and women are from Blackbird Leys and Mr Gibson said boxing had helped many of them turn their lives around.

He said: “This club has done a lot for people on the estate. I’ve been here for 30 years and I’ve seen hundreds of people through those doors.

“A lot of them will never box, they just like to train with us and learn something.

“They get a lot out of it.”

Possible buildings discussed include Blackbird Leys Swimming Pool, which is set to be demolished to make way for a multi-million pound new pool.

The coach said: “That would have been perfect. It has changing facilities, bathrooms. But I think it has all gone quiet on that score.”

Other possibilities discussed by the club included Jubilee Hall and storage buildings at nearby Pathway Workshop.

* DO you have somewhere that could be suitable for the boxing club to use? It would require scope for toilet and showering facilities. And it needs to be available on evenings throughout the week. The building must also be able to hold a boxing ring and allow equipment to be attached to the ceiling. Call reporter Rhianne Pope on 01865 425411.