A quartet of St Mary’s boxing youngsters have had their hopes of national glory dashed.

Four of the club’s juniors were due to fight in Portsmouth at the 2016 Junior ABA Championships this weekend.

But at late notice, on police advice, the event has been scrapped.

Head coach Dave Bowler was disappointed by Wednesday’s announcement after seeing the youngsters work so hard in preparation for the finals.

He said: “I’m gutted for them because they have worked so hard and it’s a disgraceful decision.

“A lot of people have booked hotels for the weekend and it’s not good.

“It’s the kids who have suffered because of this and they are heartbroken.”

A statement from England Boxing said: “England Boxing deeply regrets that it must inform all clubs and boxers entered in the 2016 Junior Championships that the event has had to be cancelled in its entirety on the recommendation of the police – this includes the semi-finals and finals which were due to take place in Portsmouth this weekend.

“This decision has been made, following very lengthy consultation with the police by the Chair of the England Boxing Championship Subcommittee and the Head of Compliance.”

St Mary’s were the only Kent club to be represented in the finals.

Cameron Beech, 15, was the latest boxer to have fought his way through the qualifiers to reach the finals, beating Repton ABC’s Michael Lee in the Cadet under-60 category.

Fellow 15-year-old Robert Caswell was also due to fight, winning through in the under-40kg junior category.

Karol Ituama (junior 80kg) and female boxer Jacey Birch (under-44kg) made up the four who were due to be fighting their semi-final bouts on Saturday. The finals were set to take place the following day.

St Mary’s boxer Danny Woledge will be in action this weekend, fighting in the senior ABAs.