An air ambulance pilot from Norwich decided to pick up a pair of boxing gloves in a bid to raise money for charity after his mum was diagnosed with cancer.

Seb Powderham, 27, of the East Anglian Air Ambulance, was inspired to find a way to help raise funds after mum Tess, 59, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Mr Powderham, of Rose Lane, Norwich, signed up with Ultra White Collar Boxing (UWCB), and was given the opportunity to take part in eight weeks of free professional boxing training before a showcase event in front of hundreds of spectators.

After training, Mr Powderham took part in an event at EPIC Studios, in Norwich, and won his bout - raising a grand total of £1,429 for Cancer Research UK in the process.

Mr Powderham said: "I recently got into boxing as a means of fitness and thought I'd give a bout a go.

"Getting out and doing fitness is always brilliant. It's great to get out after a shift and blow off some steam. It can be quite stressful at times, but I work with a great team and everyone supports each other.

"I picked up boxing as stress relief in the first place. But I love my job - it's awesome."

Mr Powderham trained for his bout at Elite Gym, Norwich, with Polish boxer Jakub Adamski.

The city man was delighted to raise more than £1,400 for the charity and received even better news about his mum's condition.

He added: "It's something I had thought about for a little while but I didn't think it was something that would be so easy to get into.

"My mum is absolutely fine now, and incredibly, she's in full remission.”

His mother, who lives in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, was not able to attend the fight but his friends from the town drove for four hours to cheer him on and celebrated with a night out afterwards.

So far, Ultra Events - the company behind UWCB - has raised £23 million for Cancer Research UK in total.

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