HER Royal Highness Princess Anne conducted the official opening of the Pulse in Dursley, 28 years after she opened the original swimming pool building.

She was given a guided tour of the renovated facility by Pulse staff before meeting community members who work, or have worked, on the pool since it was first conceived as an idea more than three decades ago.

Before unveiling a plaque, Princess Anne spoke of how pleased she was to see the centre thriving so many years on.

She said: “To those of you who make use of it, this is in the right place.

“You don’t need huge facilities, you need the right facilities in the right place and it can make an enormous difference to everybody – I hope you feel that’s true.

“From my perspective it’s a pleasure to see something like the Pulse here grow in the way it has and be so well supported and I’m sure it will continue to be so in the future.”

Her Royal Highness was then given a bunch of flowers by three-year-old Charlie Mackenzie, son of Pulse duty manager Kelly Mackenzie who had handed flowers to Princess Anne herself 28 years ago.