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Birmingham tennis coach admits child sex charges
Christopher Mitchelmore-Lumb, who has been head coach at the city’s
Billesley Indoor Tennis Centre for several years, appeared at Birmingham
Crown Court via a video link from prison. The 41-year-old, of Westminster Road, Selly Oak, pleaded guilty to
charges of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, two of
taking photos of a child and 12 of making indecent images of a child. One of the charges involves Mitchelmore-Lumb taking photos using a
mobile phone, while others concern downloading thousands of images as well as
movies from the internet between September 2006 and April this year. Judge William Davis QC adjourned sentence for a report to be prepared
on Mitchelmore-Lumb, who was remanded in custody. But he told him: “The overwhelming likelihood is that an immediate
prison sentence of some length will follow these offences.” Lumb, licensed by the Lawn Tennis Association, enjoyed a successful
career in tennis coaching before becoming head coach at Billesley Indoor
Tennis Centre, which was opened in 1994 by Sir Cliff Richard. There he headed the centre’s Indoor Tennis Initiative, run jointly by
the LTA and Birmingham City Council. The centre has 14 courts and is recognised as one of Birmingham’s
finest tennis venues. It is also a Warwickshire LTA county coaching centre
and a destination for international fixtures. Following his arrest earlier this year, a Birmingham City Council
spokesman said he was immediately suspended pending the outcome of
investigations, but his contract had expired during the period of his
suspension. A spokesman for the Lawn Tennis Association it had also suspended his
coaching licence and suspended him from all LTA and Tennis Foundation duties
with immediate effect after being made aware of the allegations. Lumb previously worked as head coach at Edgbaston Priory Club when it
became one of the first venues in the country to be awarded prestigious
clubmark accreditation. Birmingham Mail |
Bromley and
Gosling triumph in Bournemouth September 7 – Bromley Lawn Tennis Club and Gosling Sports Park are the AEGON Team Tennis National Open Finals 2009 champions after sweeping to their respective titles with convincing performances at the West Hants Club in Bournemouth. Played from September 4-6, the event saw the top eight men’s and women’s teams from the league stages, which were played in May and June 2009, compete for the titles. Last year’s runners-up Bromley LTC dropped just three of 15 rubbers on their way to the men’s title. The team defeated The Edgbaston Priory Club in the quarter-finals and defending champions Sutton Tennis and Squash Club in the semi-finals before taking on David Lloyd Raynes Park in the deciding match. Bromley No.1, Matt Illingworth, was the star performer of Sunday’s final. After taking the first set 6-3 against Raynes Park’s Neil Darren Bamford, he fought back from 0-5 to serve for the second set at 6-5. Illingworth dropped serve to take the set to a tiebreak which he lost 3-7 and, trailing 0-4 in the decider, again found himself with a mountain to climb. Seemingly down and out the plucky 22-year-old from Surrey rallied to take the next six games, and the match, 6-3 6-7(3) 6-4. Team captain Charles Baylis was full of praise for Illingworth’s performance. “Matt showed why he was Bromley’s player of the season in 2009,” said Baylis. “His gutsy performance in the first singles rubber left me confident that we’d win the title.” AEGON Team Tennis debutante Nick Cavaday was another singles winner for Bromley, defeating David Brewer 7-6(3) 6-3. The brother of British No.6 Naomi Cavaday was undefeated over the weekend, posting one of several impressive performances from the younger members of the Bromley team. In the other singles rubbers Raynes Park’s Thomas Burn and James Feaver kept the match alive, Burn defeating Jamie Delgado 5-7 6-0 6-1 while Feaver was victorious over James Auckland 6-3 6-4. The match poised at 2-2 after the singles rubbers, it fell to the doubles to decide the title. The experienced pairing of Delgado and Auckland – who helped Bromley to their previous team tennis title in 2005 – defeated Bamford and Timothy Patient 6-2 6-1, while Robert Searle and Thomas Higgins beat Brewer and Burn 6-1 6-4 to secure the trophy for Bromley, 8-4. |
“I am very proud that this is the team’s second generation of AEGON Team Tennis National Open champions,” said Baylis. “Bromley finished last in the finals back in 2004 and we have gone on to prove ourselves major contenders in the last five years. The team is a very tight unit and I think that showed over the weekend.” In the women’s event, Gosling Sports Park dropped just one rubber en route to the title. The Welwyn Garden City-based club sustained the form that saw them dominate the league stages, coasting to an 8-2 victory over The Edgbaston Priory Club in Sunday’s final match. Successfully combining youth with experience, Gosling’s Amy Askew beat Manisha Foster 6-4 6-3 while Claire Ricketts defeated Leyla Ogan 6-1 6-2. Luisa Cowper managed to salvage a point for Edgbaston, defeating Hannah Martin-Merchant 6-3 6-3 but Rebecca Llewellyn’s 1-6 6-3 6-3 victory over Aimee Jarratt proved the decisive rubber, giving Gosling a 3-1 lead after the singles and setting them firmly on the path to their first title since 2002. All that remained was for doubles pairing Claire Ricketts and Llewellyn to defeat Ogan and Cowper 6-4 6-2, giving Gosling an unassailable four rubbers to one lead. Team Captain Ricketts was delighted with the result. “We’re really pleased to have won the title,” said the Hertfordshire player. “Everyone played really well throughout the weekend and also during the league stage of the event. Every member of the team showed a lot of commitment and everyone was proud to represent Gosling. “We knew we had a strong team going in but we also knew it would be a tough weekend’s tennis and we’re really pleased to come through the final. This result is really good for Gosling and for the people involved with the club.” LTA Website |
