A gym which has been at the centre of Bradford's emergence as a boxing city closed its doors for the final time today.

Parks Gym, in Wibsey Park Avenue, Wibsey, has been forced to shut after a row between gym bosses and the landlords of Park View Mill, where it was based.

It had been the centre for all of Bradford's crop of boxing talent, including British champion Bobby Vanzie and Commonwealth champion James Hare.

Terry Fawthrop, pictured, who managed the business with his wife, received a court order calling for improvements costing hundreds of thousands of pounds to be made.

The decision followed a row over the condition of the mill roof and allegations that water had been leaking between floors from the gym's changing rooms.

Mr Fawthrop said the gym had been left with no option but to close. Today Mr Vanzie, the British Lightweight champion, spoke of his sadness at the news.

He said it was "the biggest blow ever to boxing in Bradford".

"It is a massive shock to everyone," he said. "Every fighter trained there so I have no idea where they are going to go now. I trained there all the time so what I am going to do now, I just don't know. I really don't fancy going to Manchester three times a week just to train."

He said the closure would be felt by scores of youngsters who trained there.

"There is going to be nothing for them to do. It used to be somewhere for them to go. It kept them off the streets and allow them to vent their frustrations. This is a terrible blow."

Scores of members have spent the last two days clearing equipment from the gym following Saturday's bombshell. The doors were due to be locked at 4pm today, with Mr Fawthrop seeking new premises.

He said the gym, which also helped people overcome crippling injuries and trained 20 bodybuilders, would be a massive loss. "This was the best local gym in the north of England," he said. "We have worked with drugs groups, the Government and all the local schools and have 67 children registered here at the moment. This is closure is going to affect so many lives.

"We are community-minded people who care a lot for this area. I don't know where we are going to go. It feels like ten years' of our lives have just gone down the drain."

Chris Aston, who was head boxing trainer at Parks, said five current champions were using the gym but they would now look outside Bradford.

"It is going to be hard to maintain boxing in Bradford now," he said. "Most of our boxers are from Huddersfield so we will probably look to relocate there and I don't know what that means for Bradford - there are a lot of fighters from the city who will be left with nowhere."

Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe has pledged to help Mr Fawthrop investigate what has happened.

"It is a tragedy that Parks is closing," he said. "The gym brought in lots of young people from Bradford and clearly I hope these problems can be resolved."

Elvaston Properties, which is understood to own Park View Mill, did not want to comment.