A LONG-SERVING caf employee is celebrating after becoming its manager.

Freda Stabler has been part of Alvin's caf in Middleton Grange Shopping Centre, Hartlepool, for 26 years.

She said: "I sometimes think I could write a book about everything that has gone on here over so long.

"We still get a lot of regulars, some of whom have been coming here for as long as I've been working here. It's great to talk to all the people that come in every day and keep the place busy. After all, we couldn't still be here without them."

Middleton Grange Shopping Centre manager, Cormac Hamilton, said: "Freda has been a part of the centre's life for over a quarter of a century and that's quite an achievement. We wish Freda well for the next stage of Alvin's story."