The first customers were at the door of the Triangle Leisure Centre in Burgess Hill soon after 6am.

They were a group of retired people waiting for an early morning fitness swimming session from 6.30am.

The centre, like most on a Monday morning, had a quiet start to its first public day.

But the first session in the state of the art pool was a popular draw at 10am.

Fitness fans flexed their muscles on the some of the world's latest body-toning technology.

Mid Sussex Council bosses are today reviewing the problems caused by drivers unable to get into the centre at Jane Murray way quickly enough.

The start of a gala concert on Saturday evening to celebrate the Queen's opening of the centre was delayed by 15 minutes.

The event proved so popular that streams of cars were held on approach roads leading to the roundabout outside the centre.

Some drivers were caught in tailbacks half a mile long down Sussex Way towards the town's Fairplace Hill.

Others found themselves stuck in a queue on the main approach road to the A23. The hold-ups were made worse by through traffic being caught in the jams.

But despite the problems, the concert by the Brighton Philharmonic and the Ditchling Choral Society won a standing ovation, and facilities won praise from visitors.

Soprano Helen Williams gave the singing crowd a surprise during the finale of the show when she lifted her stunning evening dress to reveal an underskirt in the form of a huge Union Jack.

The concert signalled the start of the Mid Sussex Community Arts Festival, which runs until April 24.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.