The crate escape
It's the end of the road for milkman Brian

MILKMAN Brian Wilshere will park up his float for good on Saturday - after 32 years on the Higham Ferrers round.

Mr Wilshere, 62, of Hall Avenue, Rushden, has been a franchisee of Express Dairies since 1969 when he got up at 5.30am and delivered to 360 households. Now he makes up to 600 calls and starts at 2am.

He said: "I thought I'd give it a try and it grew on me so I stuck with it.

"The job suits me because you're working on your own and you've got nobody looking over your shoulder.

"Every day is different and I like the customers, they're quite a friendly bunch I shall miss them.

There's lots of things I don't like. You get fed up sometimes when it's lashing down with rain and the early mornings are a necessary evil.

"I shall be quite pleased not to have to crawl out of bed any more at 1.30am."

His wife Joy retired last week after 11 years as a shop assistant at Wills department store in Rushden.