£20,000 community cash winners announced and there's knockout success for Scunthorpe boxing club

A BOXING club has knocked out the competition by winning the biggest share of our £20,000 Cash For Your Community pot.

Centurion Boxing Club in Scunthorpe is celebrating after scooping £1,214.39 through the scheme, which saw North Lincolnshire Council team up with the Scunthorpe Telegraph to each contribute £10,000 to the cash pot.

It is one of 143 groups to receive a cash payout from the initiative, now all 32,922 votes have been counted.

Eddie Altoft, a long-serving member and secretary of the club, said: "It's very nice and I'm over the moon.

"We've put a lot of hard work in and knew from last year how much support we would need.

"We managed to come second and win £789 last year.

"We have a lot of family, contacts and club members to gather support.

"We get them all to work hard together and that hard work has really paid off.

"The money means a lot to us because we are constantly having to buy new equipment.

"As a boxing club, all of our equipment is worked hard and we need to replace a lot of head guards and gloves.

"The more people that come along, the more equipment we need.

"This money is a real boost for club funds and helps reduce the stress of running it.

"It will also help to keep prices down for members coming along."

The scheme saw coupons collected on behalf of community groups registered for the initiative. Of the 160 originally signed up, 143 returned some coupons, entitling them to cash.

A group's share of the money was determined by the amount of support it received.

Overall, Centurion Boxing Club managed to collect 1,999 coupons, which equated to a cash prize of £1,214.39.

The second-placed group was new to Cash For Your Community but fell short of pole position by just 91 votes.

The 119 Scunthorpe Squadron Air Cadets took 1,908 votes, meaning a cash prize of £1,159.10.

Nathan Wilks, officer commanding for the squadron, said: "We are over the moon.

"As a squadron, we are in the process of raising funds for a new minibus. This money will go a long way towards helping us reach that target.

"The cadets have been doing bag packing and organising their own triathlon fundraiser to raise extra money.

"This money makes a massive difference because doing their own fundraising takes extra days away from the cadets when they should be doing other activities, like gliding, flying or shooting.

"To be able to get something this way is outstanding.

"Cash For Your Community is a fantastic idea and it is nice that the Telegraph and North Lincolnshire Council recognise the efforts of so many groups."

The other top performing groups included last year's winner, Gooch Judo Kwai, which won £787.32.

Midweek Ramblers, a Scunthorpe walking group, scooped the fourth highest payout of £571.65, while Appleby Frodingham Under 9s Football Team came in fifth place, winning £540.67.

Ashby Decoy Golf Club's junior section came sixth with £528.52, while dance troupe Lincs Majorettes, which came third last year, managed to remain in the top 20 this time around, bagging £283.70.

Council leader Liz Redfern said: "I am delighted to present a cheque to Centurion Boxing Club as the winners of the Scunthorpe Telegraph Cash for your Community promotion.

"This cheque will certainly help this successful Club, which was founded in the 1960s to continue to develop and grow, and it is encouraging to see the children of many of the original members now training at the gym."

Jenny Holt, promotions co-ordinator for the Grimsby and Scunthorpe Media Group, said: "We owe a big thanks to North Lincolnshire Council for providing half of the prize fund.

"It is great to give such a huge sum of money to the community groups, clubs and charities involved, especially in the current economic climate.

"We want to say a big well done to all of the groups taking part and hope the money goes a long way to helping them."

WHO WON WHAT - SEE RELATED ARTICLE ABOVE, RIGHT