A DEDICATED laundry manager has steamed her way through more than a million pieces of ironing during her 30 years’ service at a retirement village.

Val Robson irons more than puts on on 30 washes per day and irons more than 180 individual items in the laundry at Middleton Hall, in Middleton St George, near Darlington.

The grandmother-of-one recently celebrated 30 years at the retirement village – five as a housekeeper and 25 in the laundry room, where she has put on an estimated 194,000 washes and ironed more than 1,163,000 garments during her working life.

Mrs Robson, who lives in Middleton St George, said: “I came for a fortnight to cover someone on maternity leave and I’ve been here ever since.

“I get a lot of job satisfaction from coming in on a morning and seeing rows of empty baskets, and then seeing them all full of fresh, clean clothes when I’ve finished.

“I never stop. It’s go, go, go all the time – but it keeps me fit.

“A million pieces seems like a huge amount of ironing but I don’t really think about it, I just crack on. It sounds silly to most people but I love my job.”

Such is Mrs Robson’s dedication to a crease-free life, she even tackles her own ironing with the same gusto – as long as there’s a glass of red wine and a Westlife CD playing in the background.

She added: “Most people wouldn’t want to see the ironing board again if they did it for a living, but I don’t mind at all.”

Jeremy Walford, managing director at Middleton Hall, presented Mrs Robson with a bouquet of flowers and a voucher for a meal for two to celebrate her long service.

He said: “Val is one of our longest serving employees and her work ethos and dedication to our residents is fantastic.

“She has so much energy and a pride for what she does.”