She was once told she was unemployable; she has been confined to a wheelchair for over 30 years and her 80th birthday is staring her in the face.

To the majority, however, she was and is the coach of swimming champions.

She is Eleanor Walsh and at 6am on two days a week she can be found at the Cockermouth poolside - although she gets a lie-in on a Saturday when she starts at 7am!

Eleanor's latest success is Luke Greenbank the backstroke specialist who has won individual and relay medals at Olympic, World Championship and European level.

"He was a good boy and he worked hard."

And that latter, to Eleanor, is the key - and it does not just apply to the swimmer: "A kid will be as good at swimming as his parents are as good at taxi driving," she claims.

Her success in coaching is only part of Eleanor's life. The rest is the story of her courage and sheer determination.In an interviews18 years ago it was claimed that the best way to get Eleanor Walsh to do anything was to tell her she couldn't.And now, just months away from80, that has not changed: "Maybe I can't do something the way you would do it but I will find another way. I am stubborn."

Born in Dublin, she was a champion swimmer herself, qualifying for the Tome Olympics in 1954 but missed her chance because Ireland could not afford to send a team.

While working as a PE teacher she landed the wrong way while demonstrating how to use a wooden horse. She damaged her spine and endured permanent pain. Then, in 1992, an accident with a hoist at the swimming pool did further damage to her spine rendering her paralysed.

Now she also damaged her shoulders through so many years of propelling her wheelchair but she never gives up.

The accident happened when she was assistant manager at Cockermouth Leisure Centre and in charge of the pool and swimming instruction.She was sacked by her bosses, Allerdale Borough Council because her disability meant she was no longer employable.

It seems they might have been wrong!