What A Dreadful Waste

Promising ghter Tom Bell shot dead in Doncaster, writes John Evans

- John Evans

THE close-knit South Yorkshire boxing community was rocked last week by the shocking death of Tom Bell, one of the area’s brightest hopes for the future. At around 8.30pm on Thursday

January 17, the unbeaten 21-year old was shot in the back as he stood with friends in the Maple Tree pub on the Wood field Plantation in the quiet Doncaster suburb of Balby. According to all available reports, the shots were fired through the pub window. Bell was treated at the scene and rushed to hospital but sadly passed away from his injuries before midnight.

Situations like this tend to develop quickly. By Sunday evening a 29-year-old man had been arrested in South Cave, East Yorkshire, on suspicion of murder, while a 21-year-old woman was also being held on suspicion of assisting an offender.

Detectives believe Bell was targeted and the people involved knew each other. Police previously said they had discovered a burnt-out white BMW 1 Series in Doncaster and forensic tests were carried out on the vehicle.

A former member of the Doncaster Plant works amateur boxing club, Bell turned over to professional boxing at just 18 years old and has been working with Jimmy Harrington at the Freedom Boxing Club in Lindholme for over three years. He was managed by Steve Wood.

“It’s a tragedy and such a devastating loss,” Harrington told Boxing News. “What fantastic human being. He lit up a room with his infectious smile and his charisma. He was a real character.