Ex-boxing champ Jane Couch and pals to brave cold , wet night on Fleetwood beach to raise awareness of social isolation

The former five-times boxing champ and fellow members of the Chill Lounge, the women’s support group she set up last year, will be ready for the all-nighter this Friday (March 31).

Their aim is to raise awareness of mental heal issues and raise a few pounds for some worthwhile causes in the town.

With rain predicted for Friday, the girls will not be expecting a summer beach party!

But the Fleetwood Assassin, as Jane was known in her boxing days when she fought at light welterweight, says they’re up for the challenge.

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The girls are being sponsored by local firms to help raise the funds – but Jane, 54, says the main aim of the event will be to shine a spotlight on social isolation and encourage people to talk to their friends and family and not bottle their worries up.

She said: “The main reason I set up the Chill Lounge was because I realised that mental health problems seemed to be becoming a big issue.

"The Covid lockdowns didn’t help because a lot of people couldn’t meet up in the same way.

"I had my own struggles with mental health at the end of my boxing career and I know how hard it can be when you’re trying to cope with depression.

"When we meet up at the Chill Lounge we have a laugh and a good chat – it’s not good to shut yourself away.

"So we’re all going to be wrapped up this Friday night – we’ll spend time on the beach but we might have to run cover cover!”

Sponsoring the girls are Fleetwood businesses the King Arms pub, Foulds Metals and Four Seasons florists, as well as individual sponsorship from family and friends.

Jane added: “It’s good of them to sponsor us.

"There are always good causes you can help, people who are less well off.

"The Chill Lounge doesn’t need the money – we can do some good by having a laugh and getting cold and wet!”

Jane became nationally famous in the mid 1990s when she took on and beat the British Boxing Board of Control in a legal battle to become Britain's first female professional boxer, after they had refused to granted her a licence.

She sensationally went on to became a world champ in the 1990s and was awarded the MBE in 2007.

The Chill Lounge and meets at the Men’s Shed base on Manor Road, Fleetwood, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 5pm until 8pm.

Further details can be found on the group’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/802961534166123/