TEARAWAYS who drove a car into the side of a sports training gym in Compton Greenfield came close to a face to face confrontation with women's boxing champion Jane Couch.

The five times world champion, who trains at the Spaniorum Farm Gym in Berwick Lane, was on the premises when a car left the road and collided with the building.

But it was the next day when she saw that the car had left a 20ft by 8ft hole in the wooden wall of the building owned by her trainer Tex Woodward.

"I saw flashing lights and people outside and I went out to see what was going on," said Jane, 37, who is currently training for her next title fight in London in May and also pursuing a career in boxing promotion.

"I spoke to some girls who said they'd had a puncture and I left it at that and went back inside without looking round the corner of the gym.

"I was a bit annoyed to say the least when I turned out onto the lane the following morning and saw the damage that had been done.

"A vehicle had obviously left the road and smashed into the wall, although I didn't hear anything at the time.

"Luckily no one was using the gym at the time and none of the training equipment was damaged, but it's still a real nuisance.

"I've been helping Tex with repairs when I should have been doing promotion work."

Mr Woodward said police had been called in and were trying to trace the culprits.

He said it was the latest in a series of incidents involving vehicles leaving the road and it was the second time his property had been hit.

Jane Couch was awarded an MBE in last year's Queen's Birthday Honours for services to sport after a 14-year-long career in professional boxing.