A LOCAL boxing club in Pembrokeshire recently received an award from the Paralympic Games for its work in the community.

Along with this, Pembroke Dock Amateur Boxing Club is currently in the process of applying for a lottery bid that would help extend its services as well as opening an ‘honesty’ café and a homeless bakery.

In conjunction with boxing programme Boxwise, Pembroke and Pembroke Dock ABC is currently one of the only boxing clubs in Wales to offer boxing to people with disabilities.

Pembroke Dock ABC was one of only three clubs across the whole of the UK that was recently recognised by the Paralympic Games.

Club organiser Christopher McEwen was on BBC’s Claire Summer’s Breakfast Show where he spoke about the work the club does.

“We have a 6-year-old, severely autistic who only communicates through dinosaur noises,” explains Chris.

“So what I did was put pictures of dinosaurs on different sporting equipment and I will say something like T-Rex and he will go to that piece of sporting equipment.”

“We were the first boxing club to receive ‘club of the month’ from Paralympic Sports which was lovely but it is more about the people.

“Every Thursday we run a free inclusive session for people from six to 60 and we have over 50 people turn up.

“The beauty of it is the disability stays at the door and the person is seen not the disability.”

The club also runs in conjunction with Great Britain Disability Boxing which boasts expertise from one of the first qualified England coaches to be in a wheelchair.

Based in Barnsley, Luiz Faye runs free online sessions for the club.

But not stopping there, ex-serviceman with the forces Chris wants to go further.

With potential support from the National Lottery, Chris wants to set up a homeless bakery and a disability sports café called ‘Munch’ that would provide free meals to less well-off families in the area.

Chris, who himself battles with bipolar disorder, said that without the support he receives from his family and the community he would not have been able to achieve what he has.

“The support I get from Wales is absolutely breath-taking,” said Chris.

“Through Disability Sports Wales and Welsh Boxing, and the community support we get here, I have never known anything like it.”

Find out more about the club at its Facebook page.

Find out more about the Box Wise programme here.