Our Golden Girl

A former police officer from Chorley fought back from serious injury to take a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games

- Paul Mackenzie

When she fractured her skull in a fall in 2015, former police officer Lisa Whiteside feared her boxing career was over, but she battled back and has hardly stopped grinning since winning gold at the Commonwealth Games in Australia.

The 32-year-old flyweight from Chorley beat Northern Irish fighter Carly McNaul on points in the under 51kg final on the Gold Coast and after the long flight home, she celebrated with friends and family at a party at the David Lloyd gym in Chorley.

Sporting a black eye, she said: ‘I couldn’t do any of this without my family. I have been through some tough times and I would have quit without their support and all the help my coach Mick Day gives me. He’s amazing.