The chairman of a Beccles gymnastics club which has had to change premises after 40 years has praised the town’s community spirit.
The Beccles Royales have been training at Beccles Sports Centre on Ringsfield Road, operated by the Sir John Leman High School, for the past four decades.
But now it is moving to a unit on the Ellough Industrial Estate, and club chairman Alf Dyer was full of praise for those who helped with the move over the weekend.
“It was a real team effort,” he said. “We had people from East Coast Comunity Healthcare (ECCH) who came and brought a van and drivers who made three or four trips up to the new unit and back and we had about a dozen parents.
“It all went really smoothly and I’m really pleased. We were hopeful we might get some help but more people turned up than we expected.”
Volunteers spent the morning transporting equipment, including a five-metre beam, crash mats and asymmetric bars.
“We were really so pleased with all the help,” said Mr Dyer.
The new facilities need flooring and heating so the move will cost the club around £12,000.
ECCH chief executive Jonathan Williams and Health and Safety Manager Wynn Shepherd donated money from a diet challenge and other staff also made donations towards the new building.
The club has also received financial support from Beccles Townlands Charity, Beccles Town Council, Waveney district councillors Chris Punt and Graham Catchpole, and the East of England Co-op.
The move comes a year after the club issued an urgent appeal for donations after they lost £25,000 worth of equipment including floor mats, asymmetric bars and balance beams, when it was contaminated by asbestos. However with the help of the community and volunteers, over £20,000 was raised in just a few months to get the club back on track.
The new premises mean the club will open on weekday evenings as well as its current Saturday morning sessions and can potentially double its membership.
To donate, send a cheque payable to Beccles Royales Gymnastics Club to the Club Secretary, 10 Hornbeam Close, Worlingham, Beccles, Suffolk. NR34 7DX.
Are you raising money for something special? Email polly.grice@archant.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here