A dream of a former boys club warden came true when more than 20 old friends met up for a reunion.

Keith Bergin, a warden at Central Brighton Boys Club in the Fifties, was elated when 25 of his friends turned up for the event following an appeal in The Argus in August.

Mr Bergin 72, of Crawley, said: "I am elated my dream became reality. It was truly remarkable so many people turned up after 50 years.

"I recognised many of the faces but the tides of time have changed us. For the first half an hour it was all very noisy because a lot of people were meeting for the first time in 40 years."

Mr Bergin became a warden at the boys club when he was 22.

The evening youth club for boys aged 11 to 18 was held at what is now the Sir Ray Tindle Centre in Upper Gardner Street, Brighton.

At the reunion on Sunday images from a scrap book Mr Bergin kept of his five years at the club between 1951 and 1956, were shown in a slide show.

The men, who *-were mostly teenagers when they last met, spent most of their time catching up with 50 years of news.

Mr Bergin gave a talk and was proud to hear his old helper, Ken Cooper had been awarded an MBE for voluntary service to the boys club movement.

He said: "I felt so proud on his behalf. We treasured voluntary helpers in our time and it was nice to have such a chap honoured."

Sarah Wright, who runs the Tindle Centre as an arts venue, guided the group through her photographic exhibition of the building's history.Mr Bergin's partner, Helen Green, his brother Brian, and his sister-in-law Anne served refreshments, carrying on a Bergin family tradition. Mr Bergin's parents and aunt used to help in the canteen during his wardenship in the Fifties.

Mr Bergin said he hoped to keep in touch with his new-found friends of old.

He said: "It was personally gratifying to see such enjoyment and it exceeded my most optimistic hopes. Their pleasure was my satisfaction."