VIDEO: Boxing bin men of Morecambe and Lancaster

Stuart Phillips and his colleagues at the White Lund depot will battle it out to raise money for his three-year-old daughter Rosie, who is disabled.

Rosie can’t see, sit, talk or walk, has no head control and is fed through a gastrostomy tube.

She has an undiagnosed illness where part of the fibres that meet to control the left and right side of the brain are missing.

Stuart and his wife Sarah, from Lancaster, are trying to raise £10,000 to adapt their house to help their daughter live a more comfortable life.

So Stuart, 40, will enter the boxing ring for the first time at a special show in Morecambe on Saturday, May 20.

He will battle his work colleague, fellow refuse collector Adam Mulgrew, in a three-round ‘white collar’ contest.

Other Lancaster City Council bin men Lee Coyle, John Cardo, Mark Wade and Andrew Mayor will also compete on the bill at The Carleton nightclub.

Stuart said the group were inspired to don the gloves by co-worker Steve Woodruff, whose son Lee is a boxing trainer and ex-pro.

“It’s something different, we could have done a five-a-side football match to raise the money, but we thought we’d have a go at boxing,” said Stuart, who has been training at the Coastal Boxing Gym in the West End.

“We realised when we started training we were well off the level of fitness we needed to be. But training is going well now.

“I get on well with Adam, until we see each other across the ring! But we’ll be friends again once the fight is over.”

White-collar boxing is popular all over the UK. It enables untried first-timers to enter the boxing ring, sometimes for charity, after training and undergoing a medical.

The Carleton has been a regular venue for white-collar shows for almost a decade and they have been a big draw for fight fans.

Limited tickets are available for the show. Doors open at 6.30pm. The event is run by Flynn Promotions.

Standard tickets are £30 and VIP table tickets cost £40. Call 07949 699216 for bookings.