He was a teenage boxer who grew up in poverty - then an attack changed his life

Oliver Sykes' mum left when he was just nine-years-old. It meant his dad was left to raise him and his five young siblings singlehandedly.

It was a tough time. Growing up in poverty on a council estate in the Peak District town of Chapel-en-le-Frith, there wasn't much money to go round.

"For the first eight weeks after mum left dad couldn't get income support, so he couldn't really afford to feed us," said Oliver, 33. "A farmer gave us some eggs and dad managed to buy some flour and lemon juice, so for the first few weeks we just ate pancakes, that's all. It was a really difficult time.

"I think a lot of children are feeling the same thing now - going to sleep hungry, not knowing where your next meal's coming from."

To help make ends meet Oliver's dad Christopher would also take the kids rabbiting and ferreting in the fields around their home, catching food to cook for tea. "It was very much catch, kill and cook," said Oliver. "It was like the film Captain Fantastic. When that came out all our family thought it was really funny, because that's what we used to do."

Oliver found an escape from the problems at home in the boxing ring. His dad, who's of Romani heritage, was a coach at nearby Buxton ABC and Oliver discovered a talent for the fight game at an early age.

And it also brought a father and son whose bond was already strong, even closer together.

"We are probably as close as a father and son can be," said Oliver. "A lot of kids when they're having their first fight get really, really nervous, but I never did because I knew my dad was in my corner and that made me feel almost invincible."

Oliver had almost 50 fights as a schoolboy, including a large number of unlicensed bouts at events like the Appleby Horse Fair in