An Edinburgh boxing gym has announced it will close down after being open for a year and a half.
The MTK Clermiston Boxing Club is used by hundreds of people in the west of the city, including dozens of children and young people who receive free coaching.
It was opened in 2018 at by coach Mike Webb, with the support of the council. Mike has been the strength and conditioning coach for professional Edinburgh boxer Lewis Benson.
The gym was designed to help tackle anti-social behaviour, bullying and mental health issues through sport.
However Mike now says the building is not fit for purpose and the club will shut for good on Wednesday, 25 March.
He says up to 240 people use the club over three nights, including 25 children who receive free lessons.
In a post on Facebook, he said: "The temporary equipment is now taking too much wear and tear to withhold usage and is now a health and safety risk.
"The cost of improvements to ensure safety and longevity is simply out of reach. There are also arguments that I would not be allowed to make such changes to hall.
"Six months ago I offered to invest in the property with new floors, paint the walls, a permanent structure for bags and ring as well as mirrors but was rejected by the management committee as they have the other groups to consider who use the centre.
"This equalled £12-15000 in facilities improvements lost which I won’t get an opportunity of getting again."
He added: "The Rannoch Centre has/had the full potential to be a bustling hub of youth engagement, community interest projects and the heart of community interests but unfortunately it’s not driven or used fully in an appropriate manner.
"I have been trying my best for a long time now to change thinking and improve what’s on offer but it’s now become clear that my efforts have truly fallen short.
"I will now look to see how I can support the local youth engagement officer who does a fantastic job but has had the same battles locally as I have had. If supported I feel he could make a real positive impact on clermiston.
"Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us and attended the classes. We have met some amazing people and kids and are so sad that we have to close.
"We know we have helped a lot of you and we really hope we can continue to offer something short term until I find a premises of my own."
Many have commented saying they are "gutted" that the gym is going and praising Mike's hard work.
