A £50,000 grant from Sport England will help Devizes Boxing Club to improve its facilities and expand.

The club has gone from strength to strength since it was formed in November 2009 and chairman Paul Wilkins said the award of the grant was a major boost.

He said the grant will be used to install a new heating system and to provide more storage space. The club rents the big gym at Devizes Town Football Club in Nursteed Road.

Mr Wilkins, who is also a coach at the club, said: “It’s really cold in the winter so we need to have a new heating system. We also need more storage space as we have got three boxing rings and when one is in use we have to store the other two away. The more storage space we have the more floor space we can use.

“This will mean that instead of training three nights a week we can train an extra night a week. Having training four nights a week would be great for everybody. The grant is fantastic.”

Mr Wilkins, of Chirton, founded the club and it has more than 80 members. It is backed by the Amateur Boxing Association and hosts ABA Western Counties championships.

He said: “Since we began we have taken six Western Counties titles and a couple of England Selects. We have strong ties with Fitzpatricks (a boxing gym in Swindon), they come to us for sparring.”

The mixed club has children as young as five training with them up to adults. The gym is open to people who want to get fit without competing.