A celebrity basketball club run by the first Englishman to play in the NBA is working to keep kids off the streets in south east London.

London-born Steve Bucknall set up London Lewisham Thunder after he returned from his stint at the LA Lakers and discovered there was nowhere for children in Lewisham to play.

After recieving a £50,000 grant from the L&Q Place Makers fund earlier this year, the club has been able to operate in an old empty warehouse dubbed the Thunderdome, offering local children a basketball facility instead of spending idle time on the streets.

The team now has over 200 registered players and six national league teams, as well as a number of celebrity endorsers including former All Blacks player and Lewisham born John Gallagher.

Steve, who represented England at the Commonwealth Games and also works as the performance technical manager for Basketball England, acts as London Thunder's head coach.

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He said: "It comes back to the community aspect. When I first came back and saw there was no basketball facility around, I thought ‘What are these kids doing?

“If there aren’t any of these clubs, they’re on the streets. It’s idle time.

“The parents are chuffed to be able to come down here, drop their kids off and know they are in a safe environment, with lots of mentors around looking after them."

Steve described how housing association came in 2013 and asked what they could do. They gave the club money to get changing rooms, toilets and storage rooms.

"Since then it’s developed with years of support. We’ve built the club from the bottom up," he added.

"In 2013, (housing association) L&Q came in and said ‘What can we do?’. They gave us money to get the changing rooms, toilets and storage rooms done and make us DDA compliant.

“Since then it’s developed with years of support. We’ve built the club from the bottom up."

“They’re being taught the right things, and the skills basketball brings – because it’s more than just a sport. It teaches you disciplines like working with a team & having to take orders, and we’re trying to instil those values throughout the club as the kids are growing up.

“We’re in the heart of the community and that’s important – especially with what’s happening with the youth at the moment.”

One player, 25-year-old Rowan Graham, says that having a space within the community to enjoy basketball helped him make better choices.

He now plays basketball professionally in Spain, but returns to the Thunderdome in the off season to coach the younger players.

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The club also has new plans for a new leisure centre within the New Bermondsey Sports Foundation development in the pipeline.

Energize will contain a multi-purpose retractable 3,000 seat arena, a six-lane swimming pool, a 150-station gym and a boxing area.

The Place Makers fund is offered by housing association L&Q, awarding grants to local groups, organisations and charities which "share our passion and commitment to changing lives and enahcning communities." To apply for a grant, visit lqgroup.org.uk