Leeds nostalgia: Damien in palace date and '˜punch up with police' in 1990
Leeds student Damien Speight was having a busy month back in 1990, after receiving an invitation to meet Prince Philip and a summons (as it were) to represent his club in a boxing match against the police's equivalent - 'a punch-up with the police', as the Yorkshire Evening Post drolly put it at the time.
Damien won his invite to St James’s Palace after gaining bronze, silver and gold certificates in the Duke of Edinburgh’s awards scheme. A week after that he was due to represent the Combined English Students in a boxing tournament against the Metropolitan Police Cadets.
Said Damien: “It is going to be a hectic but enjoyable experience and success in the boxing ring will be the icing on the cake.”