A MAN who died in a car crash in the grounds of a hospital was the most senior amateur boxing coach in the Home Counties, it emerged last night.

Ken Reynolds was the only advanced coach in the area and the man credited with reviving the fortunes of Banbury Amateur Boxing Club — known as the Spit & Sawdust.

Mr Reynolds, of Bankside, Banbury, died after the silver Mazda Bongo he was driving hit a parked Vauxhall Corsa and a wall in the Horton Hospital car park on Sunday night.

The 63-year-old, who was married and had a grown-up son, had just returned from a two-week holiday with his wife in Gambia.

Last night, Mel Corrigan, 53, head coach at Berinsfield Amateur Boxing Club, said: “I was with him all day Saturday and Sunday because he was holding a coaching course at my gym.

“He was a wonderful bloke — everyone in the boxing world is shocked. He left my gym at 4.45pm on Sunday and he looked fit and well.

“He was such a quietly spoken man, but he was a perfect gentlemen. When he spoke to kids he never raised his voice once — he instilled a lot of confidence in them.

“Ken will be greatly missed by all the clubs.”

Mr Reynolds was the Home Counties Amateur Boxing Association’s regional coach and would take the best boxers from clubs in Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire to compete against other associations.

He had been involved in boxing for most of his life.

Colin Goodenough, 73, secretary of Blackbird Leys Amateur Boxing Club, said: “Ken is going to be a great loss because he was the Home Counties coach.

“He was a very quiet person, very dedicated to his boxing, and one of those people for whom nothing was too much trouble.

“He would do anything to help the sport along and was the mainstay of the Banbury Spit & Sawdust club, which his was a founder member of.

“He is going to be greatly missed.”

Faz Keyani, regional secretary of the Home Counties Amateur Boxing Association and head coach of the Wolvercote-based Oxford Boxing Academy, said: “He was the only advanced coach and had been holding a course for people to become boxing coaches. He had delivered half a course on Saturday and Sunday and the other half he was meant to be delivering in two weeks’ time.

“He was a mild-mannered gentleman and this is a great loss to every club in the Home Counties.

“I have known Ken for most of my career and I have been boxing since 1975. He was very much respected by his peers for his knowledge and the delivery of his courses.

“We have the championships coming up and we now haven’t got a coach for elite squad training.”

Anyone who witnessed the collision or has any information about the incident is urged to contact police on 0845 8505505 or Crimestoppers on 0800 5551 11.