Volunteers spring into action to revamp Bognor Regis youth and community centre

The 12 helpers joined two professional decorators and two other Dulux staff as well as three representatives from The Sun to give a new look to the town's youth and community centre on Westloats Lane.

They replaced the old and cold blue of the building's main hall with a modern and welcoming colour scheme.

Bognor Community Action Network's Carol Fullick, based at the centre, said: "It's been an absolutely brilliant day.

"It's the first coat of paint the main hall has had in decades. It will make the room modern, warm, trendy and inviting."

One of the local residents who went along was Simon Edwards, 49, of The Poynings on Victoria Drive.

He said: "It's looking good and much better now. The building itself has not changed much. I used to live opposite the centre in Mons Avenue and came here boxing when I was 13 to 15.

"I've recently been bringing items for jumble sales here and voted for the centre in the competition."

The colours selected by Dulux were Totally Nutmeg Diamond matt emulsion on the hall walls and Twilight Cinders on the storage boxes and a radiator. Further colours were used on the other radiators.

In the kitchen, the walls were painted in Willow Tree and the storage box in Crushed Pine. About 180sq m of walls were covered in all. Windows and ledges were in white gloss.

Dulux brand manager David Shepherd said: "We chose quite a neutral theme because the centre has to appeal to all ages. But, at the same time, we wanted to inject a bit of colour into the building.

"It's all about giving a new lease of life to what is obviously an important part of the community."

Charlie Bibby, The Sun's campaigns manager, said: "This is all about showing how small changes can make a big difference.

"It has brought everyone together. Hopefully, more and more people will start to use the centre because there are so many good activities going on here."

The repainting resulted from the centre's success in winning a competition run by The Sun and Dulux paints.

The centre easily won the competition against rival projects from around the country with some 2,100 votes.

To help the painting, Mrs Fullick arranged a day of community activities. Displays were staged by the Southern Starlights and The Wonder Girls pom pom troupes as well as the Matt Fiddes martial arts school.

Passers-by had the chance for a photograph with the Dulux dog as well as to gain some decorating advice from the experts in their distinctive double-decker bus.

The community spirit was also shown by donations to the volunteers, from free ice creams to scaffolding and an angle grinder.

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