CANVEY Island swimmers got off to a roaring start at the Essex County Swimming Championships at Waltham Forest.

Altogether they notched up an impressive 24 finalists including five individual golds and the first ever team gold in the club's history.

The crowning glory came in the women's 4x100 open medley relay. Aimee Drake (16) led off with the backstroke touching just ahead of rivals Romford and the home club.

Alyson Moran swam her best-ever breaststroke leg to open up a 10 metre gap.

Clare Thomas's butterfly extended that to nearly half a length with another lifetime best split time, leaving Donna Spooner the task of maintaining the lead in the freestyle.

She did that with some style to earn the quartet the Sals Trophy and the title Essex County champions.