A boxer-turned-businessman says his giveaway of 2,000 school uniforms to hard-pressed families in Hull is part of his wider campaign to help young people get a good start in life.

Families queued from early morning to collect free school uniforms from Tommy Coyle and his team at the Coyle Sports Academy, in Geneva Way, Hull.

Tommy said: “The school uniforms giveaway isn’t just about making sure local children look smart for school – it’s about giving them a good start in life, building their confidence to follow their dreams whether that’s in sport, business or anything else.”

He added that the generosity was only possible because of the success of his health and wellbeing businesses, noting that clients and suppliers have played a big part in helping him to support the local community.

The deciding factor in going ahead with this year's event, Mr Coyle said, was the memory of his late father.

Chris Coyle died suddenly in June just weeks before his 60th birthday.

Tommy noted that his father had been the inspiration for him and his three brothers to go into their careers in sport.

He added: “We weren’t planning to give out the uniforms again this year because we’ve done it twice, we’ve been busy with other things and we’ve been hit very hard by the loss of our father.

“But we knew he would have wanted us to help all those people, and we also knew that given the problems facing families at the moment, this wasn’t the year to stop.”

In order to supply the uniforms, Tommy negotiated discounts from suppliers Asda and Morrisons, as well as receiving support from Local businesses Transwaste, Reach Recruitment and Sewell Group in sourcing uniforms.

Tommy also noted his excitement for both the year ahead in business, and what this will enable him and his team to do in the local community.

“Our focus this year has been on consolidating and on building our team in readiness for new projects. We’re having a very good year in business, and the prospects for next year are very exciting,” he said.

“We’ve always believed that if we can do good business then we can do good things for our city, and the companies we work with help us with that.”

Hull boxer turned businessman seeks to help community with school uniform giveaway