A mother from Wymondham has swapped the quiet life of the historic town for the ropes of the wrestling ring.

Eastern Daily Press: Kate Nash in the crowd at EVE. Photo: Roger Alarcon.Kate Nash in the crowd at EVE. Photo: Roger Alarcon. (Image: Archant)

Emily Read, 31, now runs an all women's wrestling show called EVE, a live feminist, punk rock, underground wrestling show that is run out of a disused railway arch in Bethnal Green, London.

The mother of two took inspiration to create the show after coming up against a wave of sexism while training to become a wrestler.

She said: 'I've been a fan of wrestling since I was six, my dad used to put it on and we all complained but I became obsessed with a wrestler called Ron Simmons and I thought he was incredible and I fell in love with wrestling.

'When I was 19 I started to train to wrestle in Portsmouth, that was the only wrestling school I was aware of but there was a hefty amount of sexism, I loved wrestling but there was a lot of barriers to break down and sadly I didn't have it in me. At that time I was a 19 year old girl who had grown up in the country.'

Eastern Daily Press: EVE Wrestling Champion Villian Sammii Jayne dropkicks Kay Lee Ray. Photo by Roger Alarcon.EVE Wrestling Champion Villian Sammii Jayne dropkicks Kay Lee Ray. Photo by Roger Alarcon. (Image: Roger Alarcon.)

It was after meeting her now husband Dann Read, a wrestling promoter, that Mrs Read was able to go behind the scenes of the ring as a runner, becoming fascinated with how the shows are controlled and storylines are made.

'It was a big shock and a steep learning curve moving away from Norfolk,' Mrs Read said, 'Wynomdham is such a safe and idyllic town to grow up in but the knock on affect was it was a huge shock to go out into world.I hadn't grown up around discrimination that was so strong.

'Once I got over the shock of it gave me such a desire to fight to stand up and say this is wrong and this is not okay, that's how I fell into the punk wrestling lifestyle. I love it, the community reminds me of Norfolk as it is so welcoming it's like I found a home away from home.'

The EVE wrestlers are given more complex storylines that allow the performers to progress through their career by giving them a platform to show off their talents.

Mrs Read said: 'The driving force is that female wrestlers deserve the same platform and opportunity as the men. In most case they are given five minutes in a features match. How can you get a main event if that's all they get. I thought it was unacceptable and I launched EVE.

'I'm not going to take it. I will stand up against them and say I'm a feminist. I'm a stubborn women. You should ever mess with a Norfolk Girl.'

For more information and for show dates click here.