Manchester Mayhem: Para ice hockey club loses £200 per match day

Manchester Mayhem say they are losing £200 per game and equipment costs have "gone through the roof"

The North West's only para ice hockey club have said spiralling bills and a hike in equipment prices is "worrying" amid the rising cost of living.

Para ice hockey has been a Paralympic sport since the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Paralympics.

Players use double-blade sledges and two sticks, which have a spike-end for pushing and a blade-end for shooting.

Manchester Mayhem, who play matches in Altrincham, said they are losing £200 every game and members fear the future.

The club, which trains in Widnes, formed in 2017 after the collapse of Manchester Phoenix.

Rink hire alone for Mayhem has gone up by 10% since October.

'Electric bill tripled'

Chairman Peter Hagen said: "You've got the cost of equipment going through the roof. The cost of ice time has gone up.

"The rink who we have a great relationship with, their prices have gone up and unfortunately it's passed down to ourselves."

The costs were "a worry" for the club and members, he added.

Chairman Peter Hagen says surging energy bills were impacting members

Club member Dave Lawrence from Burnley told BBC North West Tonight that ice hockey had "changed his life".

Mr Lawrence, who became ill three years ago with a condition that means he now uses a wheelchair, said: "I feel happier since taking this up. I wish I'd done it years ago.

"But I've had to factor in buying in all this new equipment to participate. I'm worried about rising costs and how it's going to affect possibly me more than others."

Dave Lawrence from Burnley says playing for Manchester Mayhem has "changed his life"

Darren Pomfret from Blackburn used to play stand up ice hockey before suffering a stroke 17 years ago.

"Whenever you get out there on the ice you're free", he said.

"With rising costs sometimes you can only train once every two weeks. If that becomes once every four, mental health and physical health suffers."

Darren Promfret plays para ice hockey since having a stroke and says "on the ice you're free"

Matt Lloyd from Planet Ice, which owns 14 ice rinks across the country, said the firm does its "level best to keep costs down" but added: "Our electric bill has tripled."

"It costs more than £40,000 a month in energy alone to run a rink like the one in Widnes. We have had no choice but to put our charges up."