MANY of the residents of Milton Abbot, surrounding villages and hamlets and outlying farms, gathered in Milton Abbot Village Hall last Saturday to mark the retirement of much loved village postman Jim Crockford.

Jim, who was accompanied to the tea party by his wife and family, has been a postman for 32 years and for close on 28 of those he has covered the area of Milton Abbot and its surroundings.

Making a presentation to Jim, chairman of the Village Hall, Chris Burchall reflected on the many friends that Jim had made for his service and helpfulness and the gratitude that he had earned. The presentation followed a local collection over several weeks.

Jim said that he was looking forward to being able to spend more time on his several hobbies. He would miss his daily contact with so many people but would not miss the early starts.

There was no doubt whatsoever from the gathering of people at his party that Jim would be much missed by all of his customers.