THIRTY young boxers were given a unique flavour of life in the Royal Navy as they were put through their paces in an exclusive training camp at HMS Drake in Plymouth.

Included in the Naval exercise were young Dorchester stars Elias Anderson, 14, Luke Cooney, 13, Jake Chislett, 15 Henry Sheppard, 13 and Martin Gough, 16.

Anderson said: “It was good to train with other club athletes and find out new things from them and from the marines.”

The Royal Navy, as part of their continued commitment to support amateur boxing, once again joined forces with the ABA (Amateur Boxing Association) to help nurture the talents of Britain’s young boxers.

The 13 to 16-year-olds from all over the country were selected to attend the one-off camp at Plymouth’s historic Naval Base.

The young boxers not only got to see exactly what life is like on base but also received special coaching from the cream of the Royal Navy boxing team, before being put through their paces by one of the Navy’s top physical training instructors.

Star of the Royal Navy boxing team, Corporal Greg Welling, was on hand to show the youngsters the tricks of the trade and also talk to them about the range of career options in the Royal Navy.

Royal Navy captain of Naval Recruiting, Captain Chris Alcock said: “Having joined forces with the ABA over the past three years to support the National Junior and Schools’ competitions, we are delighted to be able to continue the positive work achieved by hosting training events like this.

“The Royal Navy has such a strong tradition of boxing excellence that it seemed natural to share some of that prowess with Britain’s top young boxers, along with the ABA. We hope the boys and girls had a fantastic experience.”