A Jaywick councillor who swapped the town hall for the boxing ring as part of a charity event is celebrating raising more than £10,000 for community projects.
Bradley Thompson, who is the chair of Clacton Reform and councillor for West Clacton and Jaywick Sands, stepped into the ring on Friday night against amateur boxer Jake Curtis.
Mr Thompson, who was fighting under the name ‘The Councillor’, said he had lost four-and-a-half stone in the months of training leading up to the event which was held in front of about 200 people at Princes Theatre.
His fight against Mr Curtis – who raised £1,175 for the event – was billed as the evening’s showpiece, but there were six bouts between keen amateur boxers beforehand which got the crowd on its feet.
Commonwealth Youth boxing champion Arnie Dawson stepped up to referee the fights which were watched by Reform UK leader and Clacton MP Nigel Farage.
Mr Thompson retired after just under two minutes of the first round after receiving a blow which left him unable to see from one eye.
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He said afterwards: “I was doing alright, and then something hit me – I couldn’t see for about 30 seconds.
“It went black in my left eye and I just weren’t going out in round two – that was it, I couldn’t see.
“But it was good, we raised some good money – about £10,000.”
Mr Thompson, who became a councillor in 2023 representing Tendring Independence Group before switching to Reform last year, was cheered on by colleagues as well as his wife Andrea Thompson, daughter Jordan Thompson, and son Ray Thompson.
The money raised will go to Jaywick Sands Community Forum, a charity made up of community groups which help young people and the disadvantaged.
Groups include Winter Warmers, Jaywick Indoor Bowls, Jaywick Scouts, and Man Shed, among many others.
Mr Thompson said: “The money is going to go out to local community groups helping children get active, fit, socialising.
“They need a little bit of something, and we don’t want to exclude anyone.”
Mr Farage said: "A lot of people here are mid to late teenagers.
“If they do boxing, they’re taught self-discipline, they get fit, they’re not taking drugs, they’ve got ambition – I think it’s terrific, absolutely terrific.”
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