A GYM in Ashton-under-Lyne is continuing to do its bit in the fight against keeping knives off Tameside’s streets.
Samson Boxing Gym prides itself on reforming the character of unruly young people by teaching them respect and discipline.
The Moss Street West establishment has strengthened its ties with the community since being founded in 2020 by head coach Samson Ogbuehi.
The Correspondent reported last year that a pilot scheme was launched at the gym – funded by Tameside Council and the police – which invited 10 young men, reported to exhibit anti-social behaviours, to take part in a boxing regime over a month.
During this year’s national initiative to tackle knife crime called Sceptre, 322 people were arrested and 19 knives seized from Greater Manchester streets – according to GMP.
From May 19 to 25, officers executed 28 warrants and carried out a wide range of activity, including weapon sweeps, school inputs and knife arches.
Twenty weapons were also taken off the streets – including a large sword discovered by a member of the public in Tameside.
As part of the week, Samson hosted a knife crime awareness session in the gym – which he delivered alongside Sergeant Rob Froggatt, from Ashton’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, and local community activist Atta Ul-Rasool.
“It was an absolute honour to host this session and raise awareness about knife crime to the local fighters in my gym,” Samson told The Correspondent.
“I would like to say a huge thank you to Atta for making this happen and connecting me with GMP. He interacted with the young fighters and engaged with them really well.
“Sergeant Rob Froggatt was amazing. He joined in the session and this enabled the young fighters to connect with their local police officer and build a friendship.
“This broke down barriers and enabled the young fighters to learn about their local community, local police, and most importantly knife crime.”
Sergeant Froggatt, who serves Ashton town centre, as well as the Hurst and Waterloo areas, felt the session was a worthwhile exercise.
“Samson and the boxers were all amazing and very welcoming, they certainly put me through my paces in the hour-long boxing class.
“I took the opportunity to chat and engage with the group, which was great with lots of questions being asked about local policing in the community.”
The gym is open from 5pm to 8pm Monday to Friday.