Selling the Argus - at £130,000 a time

Sherry used to be one of the glamorous Argus Girls who appeared alongside the likes of Tom Jones and Danny La Rue, raising money for The Argus's annual Christmas appeal.

The girls could be seen all over Sussex at special events promoting the paper and collecting money for charity.

After living abroad and travelling the world as an air hostess, Sherry has returned to Brighton to sell off her former workplace off North Road.

The Argus moved to Hollingbury in 1993 and the old building is now being marketed by City Loft Developments as 61 luxury flats designed by Terence Conran's firm.

Sherry said she had nothing but happy memories of her time as an Argus Girl between 1967 and 1970, when she was known as Susan Sherrard.

She recalled: "We used to wear very small red, pleated mini-skirts, round neck jumpers and a red sash with Evening Argus on it and gold stiletto shoes.

"We would go to film premieres, the weekly presentations of spot the ball cheques and open fetes - all the things that celebrities do now.

"It was a very good time. We were chauffeured everywhere and fed and watered very well.

"We met Tom Jones when he was appearing in Eastbourne. And we met Paul Scofield at the premiere of A Man For All Seasons.

"I remember doing an event at the end of the Palace Pier with Ronnie Corbett. We had to make our hands into a chair for him to sit on and make him look even smaller. He wasn't very happy about it."

Sherry gave up the work when she became an air hostess.

She said: "I lived in Spain, London, I have been married twice and now I am here selling The Argus building - back where I started 30 years ago."

Out of the 61 flats in the development, prospective buyers have already put down £1,000 deposits on at least 45 since they went on sale on Wednesday.

The minimum price for a one-bedroom flat in the development is £130,000. Several people queued for two nights this week to ensure they reserved their dream flats.