MILK lady Jo Hall has decided to call it a day and end her milk round after 55 years of delivering.

The 71-year-old has been a familiar sight in her 4mph electric milk float, delivering to 200 households in Gunnislake and carrying out a tradition which started with her father Dick.

Miss Hall started at the age of 16, taking over from one of the former land girls who worked on the family's dairy farm at Maryland and it was not supposed to be a long-term occupation.

'My father needed a hand on the milk round and I said I would do it for two years for 12/6 (62p) a week and my keep,' she said. 'I told him after that I would go and be a nurse but 55 years later here I am.'

In those days Miss Hall was doing the dairy work and making the deliveries on foot. Milk used to be pasteurised and bottled on the farm and at one time she delivered to 400 customers.

'It was hard work doing the dairy work and the deliveries. We used to work seven days a week and there was not much time for a social life apart from the church. I sometimes wished I could get away from it all but it sort of grows on you.'

When the rules on milk collection changed and everything had to be collected in tanks, the Halls no longer had milk from local farms but bought it in from the creameries. By this time many of the small farms had gone out of business or gone over to beef which was where all the money was, said Miss Hall.

She has continued to live on the farm but in latter years has rented out the 14 acres. She said giving up the milk round business was a real wrench and very emotional but it was time for both her and her milk float to call it a day.She said she would miss the rapport with customers and their kindness: 'When my father was very poorly I took a note out to all my customers asking how they would feel if I did a double delivery on the Wednesday and had Thursdays off. Their response was so lovely and they said why don't I have Tuesdays as well. There is such lovely kindliness around this village.'

Miss Hall's milk round has been taken over by Dairy Crest.