Scrappers Gym has knocked out almost 100 organisations to win a 'life-changing' £100,000 in a public vote.

The cash from the Persimmon Homes Building Futures competition is likely to be used to buy a new minibus to make the volunteer-run boxing gym in West Swindon more accessible for people around the town.

Following the announcement coach Paul Rogers said: “I’m gobsmacked. There were so many worthy projects, to win is incredible. I’m overwhelmed by the amount of people that voted.”

The gym – part of Swindon Children’s Scrapstore – was up against organisations including Swindon Down’s Syndrome Group and Prime Theatre for a share of the £1m pot . Both were awarded £5,000 for making the shortlist.

Scrapstore chief executive Olivia McCann said: “It’s just amazing, it really is life-changing and it’s definitely going to make a difference.

“We already run some free sessions on a Wednesday and a Friday to help people and we’ll be looking at starting some for those with partial sight as well as those suffering from Down's syndrome.

“The new minibus will help us give access to people who live in areas like Walcot or Park North and South who might want to use the gym but are unable to get here.”

She said: “I’m so grateful to everybody. I worked relentlessly to get the message out, it went on all of our social medias, to everyone in the gym, everyone that came in took a flier away with them.

“The people of Swindon did this, they came together as a community and gave us the win. It’s a massive achievement.”

Paul told the Adver: “We want to create some new projects, starting with people who are partially sighted.

“They are a group that might not think about using the gym but we would like to help them and we think it’s a good place to start.

“We would also like to help out schools. A lot of them are struggling to get funding to have us come in and provide after-school lessons. So we’d like to put money towards that.”

He is determined to see the money go as far as possible, adding: “We need to have a sit down as it can soon get used up pretty quick.We need people to come into the gym and see the difference.

“I’m so proud of everybody who volunteers at the gym,” he added.

Richard Briggs, managing director of Persimmon Homes Wessex, said: “The scheme has been a great success and we had a brilliant evening celebrating the fantastic work of so many organisations supporting young people in our communities.

“We have been overwhelmed by the response to the competition and the hard work and dedication of those involved with all the groups.”

It is not the first time the Scrapstore project has won a public vote. It managed to land £23,000 in the Aviva Community Fund competition two years ago and used the money to appoint a gym manager.

The Children’s Scrapstore was started in 1985 and Scrappers came along in November 2011 to provide a low cost alternative to other gyms and fitness centres.

It puts an emphasis on helping young people, those on low incomes and those with disabilities.