Fitness enthusiasts set up fundraising page to support Hemel Hempstead gym during coronavirus outbreak

Brothers from Hemel Hempstead have set up a Go Fund Me page to support Eddie Abbew's Olympian Gym during the coronavirus pandemic.

Matt and Clinton Winn decided they wanted to support their local gym after it had to close following government advice to help reduce the spread of coronavirus.

They both train at the gym in the Marlowes Shopping Centre, and have become friends with Eddie Abbew over the years.

Matt said: "Due to everything that is going on at the moment, we have to think of the local small businesses.

"The gym industry is one that will be greatly affected by the new rulings regarding Covid-19.

"Eddie has always been there for me and I know that he has always been there for many others as well, not just in terms of gym advice but also if we ever had any problems that we wanted to talk about - and I know he has done the same for so many other people.

"This is our chance to show our appreciation during this difficult time.

"A few years ago I told Eddie that it was always a dream of mine to be able to compete but I never thought it would come into fruition; he helped me and my brother achieve that.

"The main aim of the page is to give something back; there are so many local businesses that will be affected by this pandemic and so we wanted to support the local business that we have always been a part of since he opened, we knew that so many other members would want to help too!

"As soon as the government said that gyms will need to close, he lent his equipment out to members free of charge so that they can continue training and keeping fit within the realm of their own homes.

"His reasoning was simply: ‘So many people go to the gym not just for vanity reasons but it is important with mental health, so I wanted to help with that during this period of uncertainty.’ An example of how much of a generous person he is."

To make a donation visit: www.gofundme.com/f/olympian-gym-hemel.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper when you do your weekly shop.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price.

So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.