Claire Manton from Hove, won six titles in personal best times at the Summerfields Leisure Centre, Hastings.

The 14-year-old also helped her Brighton Club win the 4x100m freestyle relay crown with Kirsty Hedge, Charlotte Potton and Amy Kent.

Claire's super six equals the record of Lisa Chapman (Hastings Seagulls), who missed the championships to concentrate on her Commonwealth Games bid.

laire, who makes her international debut in Wales this month, said: "It feels great to have done as well as Lisa at the Championships. I know her because we have been Sussex team-mates.

"She is obviously a little ahead of me but to win so many titles at one time is a big confidence lift, particularly as I managed so many personal best times."

County secretary Margaret Tuppen said: "To win so many county titles at one meeting is a tremendous effort and puts her on a par with Lisa, who recorded some of the best ever performances at the Championships."

Triumphs in the women's and girls' 100m breaststroke (1min.13.67sec) and 200m backstroke (2min.21.69sec) gave Claire most pleasure. Claire's winning streak was completed with doubles in the 400m individual medley (5min.11.99sec).

She said: "They were tough fields. Lauren Short, from Littlehampton, and Amy Kent, from my own club, were good opposition in the breaststroke.

"In the backstroke I managed to defeat Gemma Spofforth (Bognor) who beat me last week. "Hastings seems to be my lucky pool because I have won five county age groups there in the past."

Brighton's overall total now stands at 27 victories from two County Championships meetings, three times the number at the same stage last year. More could follow in the remaining three meetings at Brighton and Crawley.

Hannah Belameh, also from the Brighton Club, won three county titles in the girls' 200m individual medley, the born 1991 50m freestyle and 50m backstroke.

The ten-year-old turned out despite having an accident on her scooter the day before. Her mother Beverley said: "Hannah hit a paving stone and bit through her lower lip. She was determined to swim and soldiered on. She was so brave."

Brighton's Amy Kent did the double in the 50m butterfly, while clubmates Emma Eaves, Daniel Maggs, Tom Rooke and Alex Sobolev had individual victories.

Tuppen said: "Brighton are the most successful club in the county. Hastings were dominant but lost a coach and Shiverers, from Hove, also had their time but are now not so hot. It goes in cycles.

"But what Brighton haven't got is a trophy cabinet. They will need one with the way they are collecting titles."

Shiverers set a Championship record 3min.36.09sec in the men's 4x100m freestyle from Burgess Hill and Hastings Seagull. The Hove club completed a hat-trick of victories at 200m backstroke through Simon Burtenshaw (men's) and Charlie Ticehurst (boys).

Hastings Seagull won three boys' titles when Nicolas Hart (100m and 50m breaststroke) and Christopher Varrall (200m butterfly) triumphed.

Junior international David Bartlett claimed the men's 100m and 50m breaststroke for Littlehampton.

Craig Steenhoff (Hailsham) won the men's 200m butterfly in a Championship-best 2min.09.46sec and Jemma Lowe (Chichester Cormorant) took the born 1989 girls' 200m individual medley. Crawley were victorious in the born 1990/91 4x25m freestyle race.

Other top-three placings were also achieved by Lauren Short (Littlehampton), Rachel Swerling (Shiverers), Gemma Spofforth (Bognor Regis), Nicky Abbott (St Bedes, Upper Dicker), Richard Salt (Shiverers), Nicholas Hart (Hastings Seagull), Danny Sivers (Eastbourne), Thomas Dewhurst (Hastings Seagull), Hannah O'Grady (Crawley), Chelsea Gumbrell (Haywards Heath), Joanne Whalley (Littlehampton), Rebecca Mintrim (Crawley), Joanne Pickard (Hastings Seagull), Toni Buckingham (Crawley). Relay placings: Crawley and Shiverers.

The third event of this year's County Championships will be staged at Brighton on Sunday Meanwhile, Sussex County Championship organiser Margaret Tuppen revealed last night that the Hastings event came close to being scrapped.

She said: "About ten days before it we only had 12 officials to run it and that would have not have been enough.

"So I sent out letters to clubs and people connected with swimming warning them that we couldn't run Hastings unless we had more.

"Fortunately we managed to raise about 25 and the show went on, but it would have been so sad for the children if we'd have had to call it off."