THE first manager of Tyldesley's Castle Street baths died recently at his home in the Isle of Man.

Tony Trussell, 67, took over the running of the baths when they opened at the former Majestic Cinema site in 1964.

A father-of-two he was responsible for introducing long distance swimming there and saw club teams win honours crossing Bala Lake, Windermere and Morecambe Bay.

But the highlight of his five years period at Tyldesley was the successful channel relay swim in 1967, when he and Jimmy Grimshaw coached a team of teenagers to make the 31 mile crossing.

Record

They covered the distance from Dover to Wissant Beach just outside Calais in 11 hours 37 minutes - just 16 minutes outside the record.

Two hundred and forty teams had attempted the swim and Tyldesley SC clocked the second best time, returning to town to complete an open topped tour of triumph along the main streets.

When he left Tyldesley Tony, who specialised in high diving, moved with his wife Eleanor and children Tony and Lynne to St Helens and then to the Isle of Man.

Tyldesley resident, Sally Crompton, who was employed at the baths in the sixties, has kept in touch with the family.

She said: "I was saddened to hear of Tony's death, he did a great deal for Tyldesley swimmers."