AN ACCOUNTANT, a teacher, and a psychotherapist will all take to the boxing ring to raise money for soldiers wounded in Afghanistan.

Casualties from the Rifles are being given ringside seats for South Moreton Boxing Club’s Rumble at the Regal on Saturday, a white-collar boxing gala night in Wallingford, to raise money for the regiment’s Care for Casualties Appeal.

A policeman, solicitor and a hedge fund manager are also among the amateur boxers fighting bouts in front of the paying public at Wallingford’s Regal Centre to support the wounded from the Army’s largest infantry regiment.

Boxing club head coach John Houston said: “It should be a really fantastic show. We’re really going all out to make it a cracking night. We’re bringing a little bit of Las Vegas to Wallingford for the night.

“The guys boxing on the night come from various backgrounds – some have boxed before, some are first timers, but they will all be putting it on the line to give a great show and raise as much money as possible.”

The glitzy evening will include big-screen video intros, lasers, ring girls and music from the Abingdon-based Waterloo Band of 7th Battalion, the Rifles, to build up the atmosphere.

In the crowd will be three former-boxers from the Rifles, who will never be able to get in the ring again after being wounded in action.

Two were shot, while the third, now receiving rehabilitation at the specialist Headley Court centre in Surrey, lost both legs and an eye in an explosion.

The regiment, which has been granted the Freedom of Wallingford, has suffered more deaths and injuries in Afghanistan than any other. More than 50 soldiers have been killed and 250 wounded from the regiment’s battalions in the past two years.

Boxing club member Lt Col Simon Hill, who recently retired after 30 years’ service in the Territorial Army and will be fighting on the night, said the Rfiles Regimental Trust charity needed more money than ever to support the wounded and their families. He said: “The regimental charity goes back to the time of the Peninsular Wars and we have had a fair bit of cash stashed away, but as you can imagine, this war has knocked it for six.

“We have dished out £300,000-a-year for the past three years. We know we need £1m to get us through the next three years, and we have got a huge effort this year to raise that money.”

Tickets for Saturday’s event, priced £25, are available from southmoretonboxingclub.com or from Mr Houston on 07981 328326. Tickets will also be available on the door.

Doors open at 6.30pm, with the boxing starting at 7.30pm.

wallingford@oxfordmail.co.uk