'It's just a waste of a life, isn't it? No one else should go through what I did'

Beneath the main stand at Bury FC's Gigg Lane stadium is a wall lined with photographs of a promising boxer who was murdered in cold blood.

One image shows him standing in front of a brick wall, fists clenched, smiling towards the camera. In others, he's surrounded by friends and family.

More than three years have passed since Cole Kershaw was shot dead in Chesham Road, Bury. Caught in the crossfire of his best friend's bitter feud with a love rival, the 18-year-old was not the intended target.

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Just yards from the shrine he has made to his son, Chris Gaynor poses for his own photograph, his arm wrapped around a punch bag. It is here where he has spent the last few months setting up a boxing gym in Cole's memory.

After months of toil, the King Cole Academy opened last month - three years to the day that Cole's life was tragically cut short.

Following Cole's death in August 2020, Mr Gaynor set up the King Cole Legacy, a charity aimed at continuing his son's legacy. The main aim was to raise awareness of gun and knife crime and 'save young lives' through education and sport.

Since forming the charity, Mr Gaynor has dreamed of opening a gym. So when the opportunity to do just that at the rejuvenated Gigg Lane presented itself earlier this year, he jumped at it.

Mr Gaynor called upon the help of friends to kit out the gym, which will host boxing, mixed martial arts and fitness classes for all abilities and will be open several days a week.

"I didn't think we'd get to this point," he said. "I'm quite proud of myself actually. I've never done anything like this in my life.

"We've done this off our own back. Cole would be laughing,