Forth Tiger Muay Thai is looking for a new home in Bo'ness

The club was founded by Alex Sneddon in 1999 and has changed its name a few times in the last quarter of a century.

However, the current instructor Ross Cameron – who leads classes on Mondays and Thursdays with fellow instructor Ross McMinn – has been a member from the early days.

Six years ago, Ross took the helm and has had great success bringing on youngsters aged from five to 16, as well as training men and women in the martial art.

With the premises fitted out with all the gear members need, moving when the centre is scheduled to close its doors on Friday, May 3, won’t be easy.

He has been offered new premises by the jujitsu instructor he shares the space with at the recreation centre; however, it’s too steep a price for Ross to meet.

So now he’s desperately trying to find somewhere in Bo’ness to accommodate the classes.

He said: “I don’t want to move out of the town as around 80 per cent of our members live here.

“Even if I move to Linlithgow, that’s still asking already very busy parents to chauffeur their children even further afield and that ultimately will have an impact on membership.

“The recreation centre has all the gear we need – mats, punch bags and storage for our pads and gloves – under the one roof. It’s easy just to go in and get started with training.

“If I hire out a church hall or the like, there’s a time factor involved with setting up and I’ve only got a wee car so humphing the gear about won’t be easy either.”

Ross (44) works full time as a draughtsman in construction, meaning he doesn’t have a great deal of time to set up sessions.

Having been born and brought up in the town, attending Kinneil Primary and the Academy, and having trained at the recreation centre since he was 18, Ross is now backing the Save Bo’ness Reccy Campaign in the hope that it can be saved.

He said: “We’ve got a really good wee club going and I’ve done my best to run it well for the last six years – as did the guys before me.

“It's going to be a big blow for the 25 youngsters and 18 adults who train with us every week if it folds.

“We were all devastated when we heard the centre was going to close on May 3 and members are asking me every week if I’ve been able to find new premises. They want to stay local and loyal to the club.

“We’ll be at the peaceful protest on Saturday morning, showing our support for the campaign. I’ve lived in Bo'ness all my days – I can’t believe that the council is shutting the centre. Where are we supposed to go?”

It’s a question many groups impacted by the closure have also been asking the council.

Matters took another twist on Monday when Falkirk Council announced it was closing the pool with immediate effect to safeguard customers and staff, after water began leaking into the rest of the building.

An independent structural engineer’s inspection carried out last Thursday led to the decision, with no indication if the pool will re-open before the centre is closed for good.

While Ross hopes to run the Muay Thai classes until May 3, the club’s future is far from certain either.

He added: “I enjoy running the classes; it’s good for my own personal fitness and mental health and a lot of the members enjoy it for the same reason.

“As for the youngsters, we’ve had a lot of success stories. We have a zero tolerance approach on bullying and, as well as learning a martial art, the kids build self-confidence, learn discipline and make friends here.

“We’ve had a few parents contacting us to tell us their kids were having a rough time but the club has made a big difference. It’ll be a real shame if we can’t continue.”