Fitness instructor flexing into her 80s

Hear Sheila Jones putting her Cheadle class through their paces

Matt WeigoldBBC Radio Stoke and Laura McMullanBBC Midlands Today

A fitness instructor of fifty years has no intention of hanging up her trainers despite being about to turn 80.

Sheila Jones teaches 14 classes a week across Biddulph, Cheadle and Leek and is described by one of her participants as a "living legend".

Her loyal followers, some of whom have been attending for decades, thanked Mrs Jones for the motivation, energy and laughter she brings to her sessions.

"I just love it," Mrs Jones said. "Plus, I think people have fun, so that's the main thing."

Mrs Jones, from Meir in Stoke-on-Trent, began teaching in the mid 1970s and her commitment to fitness has rubbed off on her members.

"I've been coming to this class for forty years," Angela Richards said.

"That's why I get out of bed in a morning - for Sheila," she added. "If she can do it, then I can."

A woman with short black hair, black leggings and a white t-shirt is walking through a gym space. She is surrounded by twelve women laid on gym mats holding their legs and arms in the air. There is a full length mirror wall at the far end of the room and windows to the left. The woman laid on the floor are all wearing trainers and gymwear.

Mrs Jones joked that her "mental and noisy" class were behaving for the BBC cameras

Fellow class member Linda Goodwin agreed and also recognised the contribution of the eldest participants.

"Everybody's such good role models for keep fit at any age," she said.

Mrs Jones has ensured members with limited mobility or recovering from major surgery feel included and safe to take part in her sessions.

Referring to members with hip and knee replacements, she said: "Once the doctors sign them off, they seem to be fine and we have loads of fun."

A woman will dark round glasses, short blonde hair, a black long sleeved gym top, a black sports bag and a pink water bottle is stood on the glass balcony of a swimming pool. Seven swimmers can be seen at one end of the pool. There are floats, seating areas and a lifeguard in a blue t-shirt and short beside the pool.

Angela Richards was 16 years old when she first came to one of Mrs Jones' classes, forty years ago

Mrs Jones taught at Brough Park Leisure Centre in Leek before its eighteen-month closure for extensive refurbishment.

Such is the demand for her classes, one of her Leek participants requested she run her sessions from the retirement apartments, Daisy Haye.

She now conducts a chair aerobics class for the residents once a week until the leisure centre reopens.

The 79-year-old insisted she would continue her busy fitness schedule even beyond her upcoming 80th birthday, citing her resilience when returning to work six months after being treated for bowel cancer in 2009.

"You've just got to be positive," she smiled.

Sixteen woman and four men stand in front of a mirror wall in a gymnasium. The man in the centre, wearing a white shirt, black trousers and black shoes, is holding a bouquet of brightly coloured flowers. A woman with short black hair, black leggings and a white t-shirt is also holding the bouquet. The rest of the people are dressed in trainers and gymwear.

Staff at MyActive Cheadle presented Mrs Jones with flowers ahead of her 80th birthday

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