A MUM said her unruly son's behaviour has been turned round by his attendance at a boxing club.

Tracey Poskett is full of praise for Spennymoor Boxing Academy, in the County Durham town, after coaches took her 15-year-old son, Ben, for training.

Mrs Poskett, from Chilton, County Durham, said Ben had been on a "slippery slope" for the past few months.

He started hanging out on street corners and getting in trouble with the police, then she found he had been experimenting with drugs.

Nothing seemed to be working until a woman she had never met overheard a conversation she was having in a local shop.

Mrs Poskett said: "This lady I do not know from Adam interrupted me and gave me a number for this boxing club in Spennymoor.

"I took the number and thought no more about it, but there was a bit of a carry on with Ben that night, so I decided to ring them."

Ben took some persuading to attend, but after a couple of weeks, he began training at home and taking it seriously.

Mrs Poskett said: "What a turnaround, he is a totally different kid and it is down to the club.

"They do not just put him in a ring, they teach him respect. If he is in trouble at school or the police, they take him to one side and give him a good talking to."

Mrs Poskett has been so impressed that she has nominated the club for a Northern Echo Local Heroes Award, sponsored by npower.

She said: "They are miracle-workers. If I won the National Lottery tomorrow, I would give half of it to that club, that is how much I think about them."

The Spennymoor Boxing Academy, which operates a strict no-drugs policy, is fast becoming one of the top amateur clubs in the country.

Based in Spennymoor Leisure Centre, members have taken part in several overseas tours and a number of champion boxers have been produced.

* To make a nomination, see tomorrow's Local Heroes supplement, free in The Northern Echo.