Most people who tie the knot think their marriage is going to last forever.

But these days "I do"has a 40 per cent chance of turning into "I don't"and ending in divorce.

Now a Brighton woman is setting up a club for former wives who have been through this process.

Barbara Derber, of Eastbourne Road, divorced 20 years ago but is still involved in legal wrangling over the financial arrangements.

She is now compiling a book telling her story along with those of other women.

Barbara wants to hear from former wives who have been through a marriage break-up and are happy to have their tales told.

She hopes the book will help others going through a similar experience.

She said: "We all have stories. I felt it needs to be dealt with.

"Everybody has got a chapter to tell.

"It can be horrendous or it can be amicable."

Barbara was married at the age of 20.

She and her husband ran footwear businesses in Manchester and London and had four children, who are now grown up.

The couple were married for 25 years.

Barbara said: "My divorce was never settled properly.

I am still fighting it. It is terrible.

"I never wanted to fight anybody, certainly not him.

"When I got married, I thought I was married for life.

"Back then if you weren't married by 20, it was too late. Everything has changed now."

According to Brighton solicitor Martin Cray, a family law specialist whose practice is based in Edward Street, clients petitioning for divorce are often wives whose husbands have started to go out with younger women.

This situation was parodied in the American comedy film The First Wives' Club, in which wronged women Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn and Diane Keaton wreaked revenge on their former partners.

The number of divorces granted in the UK last year was 167,116, the highest level since 1996 and the fourth successive annual increase.

Half of all marriages in the UK today involve at least one partner who has already been married.

The most frequent grounds for a divorce petitioned by a woman in 2004 was the unreasonable behaviour of her husband.

For a man, it was separation for two years with consent.

Two in five British marriages end in divorce, the highest rate in Europe.

Anyone who wants to talk to, or join, the Divorced First Wives' Club should contact Barbara on 01273 674078.

She would also like to hear from publishers interested in the project.