SD Martial Arts, Colchester, targeted by crooks in break-in

Sean Doyland turned up to the home of his business SD Martial Arts in Davey Close, Colchester, on Sunday morning to see its windows shattered.

As he stepped inside, the martial arts expert, who has run the centre for almost 20 years, noticed £300 had been taken from the till during the ransacking overnight on Saturday.

“It’s a real shame as the money in the till was for a competition the children were going to take part in,” said the 53-year-old, who offers fitness classes to people as young as 18-months.

Damage - a window boarded up at the site in Davey Close

“It makes me feel absolutely sick, especially what everyone is going through at the moment with money tight.

“This spineless little idiot hasn’t just ruined it for me, we’re a community gym and so the impact is felt by everyone.

“It feels like someone has come into my home and smashed it up. It was a sickening feeling in my stomach when I walked in.

“We didn’t get any help during the pandemic with grants and so this was a real kick in the teeth.”

But the martial artist said he was left speechless after security specialist Bee Wise Security, which has offices in Colchester and Clacton, stepped in to upgrade the site’s protection, free of charge.

Grateful - James Burns and Sean Doyland

The centre, which was included in London’s 2012’s Pre-Games Training Guide, now benefits from a series of now preventative measures, including a brand new CCTV camera in the gym, after Bee Wise owner James Burns came forward unprovoked.

“It was like I’d been visited by a fairy godmother,” added Mr Doyland, who once used his skills to restrain a man who ran into Highwoods Community Primary School.

“He turned up out of the blue on Monday and said he could help with the security. It was for the kids, he said.

“For someone to take time to do that on the hottest day of the year was such a lovely thing. It gives the children, and community, a chance to keep on doing what they enjoy.”