'Dai' is cast as top bobby calls it a day (From Gazette & Herald)

'Dai' is cast as top bobby calls it a day

A HIGHLY-respected Ryedale community beat officer who is a familiar sight patrolling the streets on his bike will hand in his bicycle clips after 30 years' service doing the "best job in the world".

PC Dai Davies, 55, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award last year and gained the accolade of Ryedale Community Police Officer of the Year in 2003, will work his last day with North Yorkshire Police on Monday.

"All I've done is 30 years in Malton and I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. The amount of form filling and paperwork is growing daily, but it's still the best job in the world," said PC Davies, who together with his wife Kay, who works at Malton County Primary School, has two daughters, Ellen, 26, and Bethan, 25.

PC Davies is originally from Splot, South Wales, and previously worked as a butcher before joining the force in February 1975.

The bobby has seen a lot of changes in his 30 years of policing. When he took the job, his wage was £125 a month and he had a "crippling" mortgage of £74 a month.

He recalls: "In 1975, officers routinely patrolled in black Victorian style capes (it was possible to maintain the full dignity of the law whilst hiding a bag of chips underneath), and our appointments - the old-style link handcuffs and wooden truncheon - were kept hidden out of sight in special pockets in the uniform."

PC Davies said that during the night shift, once the pubs had emptied it was considered a priority to check shop door handles in Malton and Norton.

"To get to the rear of the shops, officers often scaled walls, climbed fire escape ladders.. and oh the joy of finding an insecure door, you really felt as though your existence had been justified," he said.

Before the days of the A64 Malton bypass when all traffic came through the town, PC Davies remembers a number of cars taking a wrong turn after County Bridge and end up on the railway tracks.

"It was amazing how far they travelled bouncing over the lines and sleepers before they discovered their mistake," he said.

PC Davies remembers Malton as being a much more violent town when he began his policing career. He said: "... serious assaults were common with more than a few caused by broken bottles or glasses."

He also remembers that the first policewoman in Malton, Jacquie Pashby, was viewed with curiosity.

On his retirement, PC Davies plans to cycle from northern France to the Mediterranean in either May or June and may return to the force on a part-time basis.

Updated: 10:38 Wednesday, January 26, 2005