Spennymoor Boxing Academy enjoyed a doubly successful night at their latest show earlier this month.

They took on a Midlands Select team whose fighters provided some stern opposition which contributed to an excellent night of boxing at Spennymoor Leisure Centre, sponsored by Workwear Express.

But the boxing took a back seat when over £1,000 was raised after punters were asked to donate the 'price of a pint' for charity.

At the interval Director of Coaching, Robbie Ellis, began a collection in aid of four-year-old Shelly Dodds who has an undiagnosed neuromuscular disorder.

He urged people to throw money into the ring and the collection certainly caught people's imagination as the sell-out crowd of around 700 responded magnificently. Over £1,000 was chucked onto the canvas before Wayne Baister of Bertie's Menswear offered to double the final amount. His generous donation boosted the cash raised to £2,080 while Spennymoor BA president, Brent Green also gave an undisclosed, but significant, amount.

The money has been given to the parents of Shelly whose disorder means she requires a high level of care from her family as well as professionals. The Ferryhill youngster is unable to walk or talk and has to be fed through a gastrosomy tube in her stomach so her parents are attempting to raise £8,000 to build a sensory room in their home.

Speaking on the collection, a delighted Ellis said: "I knew it would work because the support and the people of Spennymoor is so great.

"I thought of getting people to throw money into the ring a couple of years ago and Spennymoor people are so generous so I knew it would raise a lot of money."

The most entertaining bout of the evening saw two very aggressive and determined fighters, Kyle Ellis of Spennymoor and Lee Appleyard of the Midlands, put on an excellent bout. Appleyard, with Herol 'Bomber' Graham in his corner edged it with a majority decision although the night's Best Junior award was presented to Ellis.

Gary Reay had got the evening off to a positive start for Spennymoor when he won the first bout with a majority decision but Dean Barrows of the Phil Thomas School of Boxing edged his fight versus the host's Kerry Heavisides.

Billy McAloon, Joe Davidson (both unanimous) and Shane McAloon (majority) took their bouts while Spennymoor's Katie Read won a female bantamweight contest when Nicola Owens of Wellington, Middlesbrough retired.

There were also wins for Alex Oliver and George Gallone (both majorities) but Mark Golightly lost a unanimous decision to Alan Unsworth of the Midlands team who were managed by Pat Sheean who, after the event, praised Spennymoor BA for hosting such a successful evening.

The most impressive boxer on show was Danny Teasdale of the Midlands. A winner of a string of national titles as a junior, Teasdale is trained by Graham and was being filmed for a Channel 4 documentary team who have been following his progress for the last four years. He beat home favourite, Stuey McCrone with a majority decision.

* If you would like to contribute towards the Shelley Dodds fund, contact Robbie Ellis on 07968 205043.

* Spennymoor BA have room for new recruits who are interested in joining the club who train at the town's Leisure Centre. New members will have the opportunity to travel with the club when they make a trip to Canada next year having also visited Chicago 12 months ago. Anyone interested in learning the disciplines of the fight game should phone Robbie Ellis on the number quoted above.