WINSFORD businesswoman Stella Capel has raised a glass of champagne and toasted her office computer!

For intensive IT training on her business PC has saved Stella so much time that she has been able to negotiate the establishment of Britain's first national headquarters for in-line hockey.

Stella, who lives in Knights Grange, said: "IT training has not only turned my business round but it has enabled me to progress projects that had been dragging on for a long time."

Stella runs the Verdin Exchange-based Professional Hockey Coaching and Consultancy Service and sets up training schemes for in-line hockey coaches as well as managing the British in-line hockey team.

She explained: "When I opened my office in Winsford I could not afford to employ staff and had to do everything for myself.

"With all the typing, telephone calls and paperwork, I hardly found time to do anything else."

Then came along Winsford computer expert Tony Leach, IT manager with Plan-It Computer Solutions. He offered Stella the chance to undertake some of the training programmes Plan-It were offering to business users throughout Vale Royal.

Stella added: "Today I am computer literate. I use my PC to send and receive phone messages and faxes as well as using it for e-mail which means I can communicate with people in my sport from around the world."

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.