Scott Cardle has announced his retirement at the age of 30.

The man from Lytham St Anne’s had a successful stint in both the amateur and paid codes of the sport of boxing.

Cardle was the British lightweight champion for two years, beating Craig Evans to take the crown in 2015 and defending his title three times.

He began boxing at the age of 11, winning national schoolboy titles and becoming a three-time national junior champion.

“Trying to stay active in the most inactive year of my past 20-plus years has been difficult and trying to get a comeback fight from my last defeat has been even harder,” Cardle, who also claimed the Central Area and English titles during his professional career, wrote when revealing the news. “For that reason, it breaks my heart to announce my retirement.

“I was hoping for one last meaningful farewell to the game but there’s more to life than boxing and my health is more important.”

Cardle, who issued a series of thanks on social media when confirming his decision, leaves the sport with a record of 23-3-1 (7).

“I am forever grateful to the sport of boxing for the man it has made me and my life experiences. Boxing will always be a massive part of my identity and I believe the sacrifices I have made [to the sport] since [I was] a schoolboy have been worthwhile.

“I plan to stay close to the sport and hopefully in the future I can have a gym of my own and make an impact on kids the way I was impacted on as a young man.”