The Register of Exercise Professionals has set a new record by having 26,257 active members at the end of March.

Registrar Cliff Collins said: “This is a great achievement for the Register and the REPs’ team as a whole.

“I don’t think anyone thought we would come this far when we first started out but I’m very pleased to say we’ve exceeded all expectations.

“Even better is that the upward trend in terms of members’ qualifications and CPD tallies is showing no signs of waning at all. It’s a personal wish of mine to see rates of level 3 members go up to 80 per cent by 2010 and we are already at nearly 65 per cent.”