Packed inside a Carlisle gym are more than 20 young and enthusiastic Currock House ABC fighters.

The young boxers are being put through their paces by coaches Gary McGarvie, Andy Conkey and David Bell who have helped the club come a long way over the past 17 months.

McGarvie explains: "The club is buzzing at the moment.

"In April 2017, I started to pop in and give them a hand. Unfortunately one of the coaches, due to other commitments, had to leave.

"That left Dave all by himself. I offered to give him a hand but the boxers left and the other coaches had left. We almost had to start from scratch.

"Now, regularly, we are getting 20 people a night. We have nine carded boxers and some of our lads are competing in championships."

In fact, this particular Wednesday evening training session is so well attended there is only just enough space in the room for some of the boxers to train, such is the popularity of the class.

McGarvie admits, though, that Currock House ABC will need outside sponsorship to be able to get new equipment.

"It costs us £93,000 a year to run the club. We just rely on subs to get through the year. So, we are looking for sponsorship," he confirms.

"We need new gloves and new skipping ropes and, as I say, we have nine boxers now so, hopefully, we can get club t-shirts.

"It’s nice that the club is full and, in better weather, we’ll take them outside and maybe do a bit of spin work. But, in the winter, it’s hard.

"That’s why we are starting another class on a Monday from 5.30-6.15pm and we will see how that goes and progresses.

"Hopefully, we can get to the point where we have two classes a night for three nights a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays."

Currock House ABC work closely alongside Border City ABC and Wigton ABC, and McGarvie accepts boxing is a popular sport in Cumbria.

"It’s massive. Yeah, it’s great," he says.

"There are three clubs in Carlisle. The lads go sparring at Border City in Shaddongate.

"Out of the lads who were here today, seven are brand-new and have never boxed before.

"We go to Border City and we go to Wigton, Andi Crossman’s gym, where he kindly lets us do a bit of sparring there.

"Boxing is great because it gets kids off their Xboxes and gets them out and about."

Throughout this training session, for the most part, the young sportsmen and sportswomen certainly seem to be enjoying themselves.

"That is what it’s about. I don’t want anyone coming through the door, not wanting to be here," McGarvie concedes.

"You make them feel welcome and part of the group. It can be a bit intimidating for them as soon as they walk in.

"If someone comes with their mate, I tend to split them up so they get to know other people. That helps to bring each other on.

"It really is a good club and a good atmosphere.

"On a Monday night, we actually have three girls in the gym. There is Nell [Conkey], who has had a couple of bouts, a Dutch lady called Rosie and Zoe who likes the craic."

McGarvie is hoping Currock House ABC will be able to hold their own home show at some stage next year.

"Nine of them [the clubs’ boxers] are now carded. This year, we are going to attend some shows," he explains.

"The plan is either, late this season or at the beginning of next season, we are going to have our own club show. We have never had our own club show.

"Border City have two shows a year so, ideally, we would like to get one club show to get all our boxers on to reward them for all their hard work that they have been doing.

"That will allow them to box in front of their friends and family."

What are the clubs other future plans as they look to develop?

"We could do with a ring," McGarvie, who coaches alongside Conkey, Bell, Nick Holden and Josh Graham, admits.

"But we don’t know how to go about getting sponsorship through grants at the minute.

"The club is stable. There are four coaches that are now level two and one who is level one who is a student at Preston College.

"We just need new gloves, new skipping ropes and club t-shirts.

"The bigger plan would be to get a pop-up ring up. But they costs £3,000-£4,000 so that is more of a long-term goal.

"If it continues like this, that’ll be great."