For a while they were homeless but this Frome boxing club came back fighting, has a new top-class venue and a secret rocket young star, who while she is smaller than her classmates, is not letting the fact she is just 12 stop her from packing a real punch.

As the chairman of Frome Amateur Boxing club told us ahead of their special open event: " We are all buzzing."

To celebrate the new venue up on the Frome trading estate, fitted out with top tier equipment and a full-sized up ring, they have pulled in the only world boxing star to ever come out of Bristol, Glenn Catley to do the honours.

For new talent look no further than Lily Hughes whose talent has been nurtured by European boxing ace Ryan Wheeler

Frome Amateur Boxing club runs adult and children sessions, with high energy and fully qualified (and safety checked) coaches and has already trained up over 22 ready to box 'carded' senior fighters.

When Nub News visited the club was fizzing after the first official bout of youngster and Selwood school pupil Lily Hughes, who in the words of those who know, is showing remarkable talent and radiates confidence, hence the nickname, the Pocket Rocket.

Lily told us: " I was a bit nervous when I first went into the ring, but once I was fighting it was exciting. I love it. My friends like that I box too.. I am smaller than a lot of them, so it is a bit surprising. " Lily has already been training for six years but right now is stepping up to her first official boxing. She is also super polite, when asked if she wanted to say anything else, quick as a flash: " I want to thank Ryan and my family for being so supportive."

She may be small (33.5 kilos) but she is mighty

Ryan Wheeler made a lot of noise when he boxed the circuit, but having been forced out by injury he is now happy to channel enthusiasm and energy to the young charges at the the club and it was he who spotted Lily as a great future talent.

But she wasn't the one in the family expected to love boxing. Her proud dad Albert, who fought an impressive sixteen bouts for Frome, initially took his son to training, but Lily tagged along and while he became less interested she showed a remarkable appetite and talent for the sport. She was timid at first he said, but now is super confident and it makes her happy.

All the kids at this junior session are clearly thrilled to be there and parents can be confident that with all those involved the children will be supported, in every way, whether they just want to come for some exercise, or have bigger ambitions.

Frome has a history of top class boxing - so this club is aiming right to the top

It is an exciting time for the club as the sport, in particular women's boxing, grows in strength.

Frome wants to come out fighting and with subs for the kids kept to a minimum and all the equipment, save their hand wraps, supplied by the club, they are aiming to hit the big time.

Chair, and himself a former boxer, Rich Allen is at the helm. He spent ten years boxing, sometimes alongside his late brother, in the late 1980s and he still loves it.

" We are all buzzing here, " he told Nub News. " We have an excellent committee and we are going places. Our new venue is great and we have youngsters keen to come here and keen to train.

" I was always passionate about the sport, then I was hand picked to set the club up again. It lapsed during Covid and there was a time it could have folded.. now we have four coaches all fully qualified and eight on their way to having all the paperwork, and over 40 boxing members. We have all these youngsters joining us, and we can expand that. Right now we just train over three nights (details HERE) but we can increase that if we have to. Back when I was boxing all those years ago, it was booming in terms of boxing and Frome is a lot lot bigger now, so we are really hopeful.

" My ambition is to get a handful of our best people into national bouts over the next years. I would love to see a full card of boxers from Frome. "

What is boxing ?

" Boxing is control," Rich tells us. "So you get the discipline of the sport, but we also offer somewhere for the youngsters to come to where they can be themselves, and of course it is keeping them fit.

"It really is all about the training.

" What makes a good boxer ? It is very simple - it doesn't matter how talented you are, it has to be the fitness, if you are not fit enough you will not last the three rounds that you get given to box. You can be exceptional but if you don't have the fitness, you will get beaten."

Their motto is Train Hard, Fight Easy

Meantime on Saturday (May 20) the club will officially ring the bell on their new HQ with the only world champion boxer EVER to come from Bristol the ex WBC Super Middle Weight, Glenn Catley (@GlennCatley) on hand. If boxing had royalty, he would make the balcony, he is legendary. Everyone welcome for some boxing a BBQ and a chance to find out more.

And then there is 12 year old Lily - the super smart, super confident Pocket Rocket undaunted by the ring, fit, and fierce but also so polite and full of charm - watch out boxing world.

Frome has a winner.