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January 2011
The UK’s No 1 fitness industry magazine
Industry’s best are honoured at awards
Locker thief banned from every gym By Christina Eccles A MAN has been banned from using any gym or leisure centre in England and Wales after being caught stealing from lockers in clubs across London. 48-year-old Steven Lawani has been served an anti-social behaviour order – which bans him from clubs – following a conviction for attempted burglary. He appeared at Wood Green Crown Court and was sentenced to 12 months, suspended for 15 months, after pleading guilty to the offence at a leisure centre in Haringey. The ASBO was also served to stop him stealing from lockers in gyms and leisure centres, with the ban being sought by an officer from Islington Police’s anti-social behaviour team, who provided evidence of Lawani’s history of over 10 previous convictions in which he committed similar offences across London. The ASBO prohibits him from entering any gym, leisure centre, swimming pool, sports centre, or spa health club and from possessing any membership cards for such premises. PC Graham Burke, from Islington ASB team, said: “There is a substan-
tial amount of evidence which shows Lawani has targeted gym lockers in sports establishments all over London for years. “These personal thefts are particularly distressing for victims, and I hope this ASBO will help protect London's gym goers and their property.” Islington Police has also given out advice to gym owners who may be concerned about how to protect themselves from similar incidents occurring in their clubs. PC Burke added: “We advise staff in gyms or leisure centres to look out for people who make multiple visits during the day without doing much or any exercise. “Thieves will generally strike when there is no one about and therefore tend to loiter in a manner different to a genuine gym user. A tactic for some thieves is to follow genuine users in from the car park, locate which lockers they were using, then break in and come away with the person’s car keys. Gym users should be advised not to take valuables to the gym if this can in any way be avoided.” For more see page three.
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ALMOST 500 people attended the first ever National Fitness Awards, which recognised the best of the fitness industry at a glittering ceremony in York. The awards – which took place at The National Railway Museum – were organised by Workout and hosted by Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies. Several hundred entries were received, with the worthy winners decided by a panel of judges including Sharron, fellow Olympian Jennifer Stoute and Andree Deane. Winners on the night included Club Kingswood which was named national gym of the year and lifetime achievement recipient Jim Charles.
Industry stalwart Jim Charles has been rewarded for his achievements throughout a career spanning over 50 years. Bodybuilder Jim – pictured here with wife Val – picked up the Lifetime Achievement trophy at the first ever National Fitness Awards, receiving the prize from Olympic swimmer Sharron Davies. The event took place at the National Railway Museum in York.
National Fitness Awards director Andrew Harrod said: “It was a fantastic event and just what the industry needed. We are already thinking about the next awards and plan to come back even bigger and better in 2011.” For a full round up of the evening and list of winners see our awards special starting on Page 34.