Littlehampton swim centre is 25 - and Gail and Vivienne hit silver, too

Littlehampton Swimming and Sports Centre reached the landmark anniversary, and manager Vivienne Monahan and Gail Whitehouse, finance manager, have been there since the beginning.

Vivienne, 59, said: "It has been a wonderful quarter of a century. Sport is my life."

She started in the centre as a lifeguard and swimming teacher, when the centre held only four classes a week. There are now classes every day, teaching 4,000 people how to swim.

Gail, 61, joined as a receptionist, as said she remembered have to practice her curtsey for Princess Alexandra, who opened the facility in 1983.

She added that the growth she had seen had been amazing, with 308,000 customers in 1983 becoming 413,000 last year.

Both were presented with long service awards by their colleagues last week.

Vivienne, who will retire when she turns 60 in November, added that she remembered campaigns to raise money for the building of the pool.

"I was always right behind the campaign, so when it was built I was more or less banging on the door for them to give me a job. They did, and have never got rid of me."

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