THE manager of a fitness centre which told a 62-year-old cleaner to retrain as a lifeguard has revealed he is sad she has left the company.

The Sentinel reported on Wednesday that Joan McGovern, who has a fear of water, took voluntary redundancy after Total Fitness said her job would have to include monitoring the pool.

Club manager Liam Murphy, who initially refused to comment, said he is disappointed Mrs McGovern did not discuss her concerns before quitting.

He said: "It's sad she chose to take redundancy rather than carry on at the club. I didn't actually want her to leave. We could have talked about it, but instead she took redundancy."