Reflecting on the riots, coach Shahid Shad says: “Do I agree with the boats coming over?
“Well it’s an issue but it’s nothing to the point of where we should be slinging each other down and burning hotels because in a nutshell you’ve made your area bad, you’ve made your council spend money that they shouldn’t be spending to repair a building.”
Kaya Odemis, 14, trains at the gym four times a week after school.
He says: “Look at all the flags in the gym.
“We’ve got people from Congo, from Yemen, Somalia, England, Kurdistan, Kashmir, Scotland and Turkey, which is where I’m from.
“We’re all under the same banner aren’t we?
“I know loads of guys who were pretty wild at school but this place changes them, it’s an escape.
“It’s the discipline of boxing they respect.”
On the riots, he says: “I understood why they were angry but what I think I didn’t understand is like the way they dealt with it.
“For those in the hotel, I feel bad for them to be fair. I felt bad for what they had to go through. I hope they’re safe.”