A St Albans charity boxing camp has had a “life-changing” impact on some of its participants who decided to take on the challenge to improve their mental health.

The Fight For The Kids event run by charity boxing company In The Ring Events trained people to box from scratch over a 10-week camp held at Nuffield Health in Highfield Park Drive.

Boxing coach Kay Shah said: "Four of our boxers suffered from mental health issues. They explained that they received all types of treatment such as medication, counselling and nothing worked, but said that this boxing camp and opportunity to perform in front of a massive crowd has been life changing for them."

For Ritchie Suragh, 18, the course was a great experience. He said: "I signed up for it because I wanted to improve my wellbeing and get away from my anxiety. I also did this for my great grandfather who was a boxer.

"It started to make me feel better straight away when I started to really enjoy the classes. I feel a lot more confident to carry on with my life now and am a lot less anxious.

"I would recommend boxing to anyone who is experiencing mental ill health."

St Albans mum Naomi Hercules-Walker also took part and said: "I was diagnosed with Lupus a few years ago and I used to go to the gym - I saw the poster for this and I thought I would give it a try. It was three days a week and I was encouraged to do running as well as boxing training.

"The four coaches were fantastic and everyone built up great friendships - we all bonded because we all spent so much time together.

"It has definitely taken me out of my comfort zone and I am so glad that I did it.

"I think people who have depression can really benefit from physical activity and it can be hard to get motivated to do that. I am definitely going to carry on boxing until I don't enjoy it anymore - which I can't invisage."

Following their 10 weeks of training, the boxers then got to show off their new skills in front of a crowd on October 12 where over £6,300 was raised for Save the Children UK.

To find out more about the boxing camp contact info@intheringpromotions.co.uk.