PARALYMPICS star Tanni Grey-Thompson opened a £200,000 fitness suite at Redcar Leisure Centre yesterday - and said it was so good she would use it for her own training.

The Energy Club has been funded by Tees Valley Leisure (TVLL), which manages leisure facilities in partnership with Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council.

Glyn Amos, business and marketing manager for TVLL, said the company was a not-for-profit organisation, which reinvested surplus income into service and facility improvement.

Ms Grey-Thompson, who has spina bifida and is wheelchair-bound, won four gold medals at the Sydney Paralympics.

She said: "Facilities like this spread the news about the importance of being fit and healthy."