But the Winfarthing resident has no plans to wind down and will still be at the heart of the town as part of the 2009 Carnival committee.

Mrs Collins, who was 63 this week, admitted leaving the Mere’s Mouth establishment was a wrench and said whoever filled her place in the three-strong team would have a dream job.

“It’s a privilege to have worked here,” she said. “If the next person gets as much out of it as I have they will be very lucky.”

Mrs Collins admitted it had been a real surprise when she was first offered the job.

“I used to work for the Inland Revenue as a tax officer but had not had a full-time job for about 16 years when I saw the post advertised,” she said. “They were asking for someone with experience of the general public and I’d done some work with play groups. At the interview I was asked the way to various places and told them why I wanted the job.

“I was surprised when I was offered it.”

The office opened in October 1989 and since then has won a string of awards.

“I’m very proud of the consistency the centre has shown over the years,” she said.

“Whenever we’ve been visited by a mystery shopper we have regularly got top marks.”

But it is not only visitors who have been treated to the first class service offered by the TIC team. Town residents are regulars in the small office next to the Mere.

“I’ve met so many lovely, pleasant, chatty people over the years and will miss that contact with the regulars,” she said. “I’ve got to know so many people well over the years. But I’m not emigrating so I hope I will see many of them in and around town.

“I am so grateful to my colleagues, the residents of Diss and our annual 50,000-plus visitors for making my 20 years in the TIC a very happy experience. It’s been a real privilege to have met them all.”

And being in pole position to hear what visitors to the town have to say has given Mrs Collins plenty of ideas of her own to improve the town’s face.

“Diss has got a really strong feature,” she said. “More should be made of the Mere; it is unique.

“Local people often don’t realise the value of tourism to the area and how visitors can help local shops and trades.

“I think we should have more pedestrianisation and have it better patrolled to keep vehicles out.

“It would be wonderful if we could make Diss more of a floral town with lots of baskets around the Market Place. It could really make a feature of the town.

“It was suggested before but appeared not to go ahead because of fears of vandalism but that is ridiculous.