YOUNG Kung Fu enthusiasts were left devastated when they were locked out of their martial arts school due to a dispute over the building.

Children turning up for their weekly training session at Chanwuyi School in Blackhorse Road, Walthamstow, were left out in the cold on Tuesday (January 11) when they found the front door bolted.

The landlord explained that the building had been closed as he was in dispute with the leaseholder over rent and the state of the building.

Teacher master Heng Long Shi, 34, has also been left without a job as the school, which caters for people of all ages and has been using the building for five years, has nowhere to relocate.

Equipment worth up to £20,000, which was paid for by the parents, is locked inside the building.

Jane Lloyd, 39, of Blackhorse Road, said going to the school had drastically improved the behaviour of one of her sons, Mujahid, 10, who has Aspergers syndrome.

She added: “He is absolutely devastated.

“He found it very difficult to make friends before he started the school but since then he has come out of his shell.”

Her other son, Bida, 4, was crowned champion in the children's category at an international Kung Fu championships held in west London last year.

“The school has done so much for my children,” she added.

Another parent, Jenny Smith, 35, of Tennyson Road, said her daughter has 'retreated into her shell' since she was unable to attend the school for daily training.

Ms Smith said: “She keeps asking me when the school is going to reopen.

“Before she went to the school she was always ill, and would always be in front of the computer, but now she is one of the best children for sports at her school.

“If I tell her the school is going to be closed indefinitely she is going to be very sad.”

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