TWO of West Craven's most experienced police officers, with 65 years' service between them, have retired from the force within days of each other.

Sergeant Peter Henderson has been in charge of the day-to-day policing of West Craven for the past 14 months, while PC Jim Hollingworth has patrolled the West Craven beat for the past 12 years - and liked the area so much that he moved there.

As a "copper's" son, a young Mr Hollingworth said the last thing he'd do was to join up. But when a pal called round with application forms for the police cadets, he went along with it and before he knew it was a fresh-faced 16-year-old "copper" himself.

Now at 49, and with over 30 years' service, he looks back with no regrets on an enjoyable career.

He joined the cadets at Chorley in 1968 and, two years later, became a fully-fledged PC stationed at Burnley. In 1986 he was posted to Padiham and then, in 1989, came to Barnoldswick to fill an acting sergeant's role.

"I liked the place so much that I bought it!" quipped PC Hollingworth, referring to the home he bought in Earby.

"I'm glad I did the time in Burnley because it taught me a lot, but I was ready for a change at the end of it," he said. "We work on our own initiative more out here and that's where the experience shows. Generally speaking, West Craven is policed more like a big village - we're all village bobbies working here.

"I often go out and find I'm enjoying a drink with someone I locked up in the past, usually when they were young and daft. But most people don't hold grudges. I've always found if you treat people right they'll treat you right."

PC Hollingworth said the job had changed "beyond recognition" since he joined up.

"We're still doing the same job as we were 20 or 30 years ago but now it's riddled with paperwork. It seems a lot of time is wasted by having to prove on paper that you're doing the job you've always done."

On the positive side, police officers were now better trained and equipped.

"We used to have a 12 inch wooden stick and a plastic visor to go over your helmet - that was the extent of your protection. Now we've got CS spray, side handled batons, protective vests, better training and new radios on the way. The kit now is excellent and it's a credit to the force that we've got it."

Looking to the future, PC Hollingworth has no immediate plans, other than a holiday

"After that I might look for something part-time, something that doesn't involve uniforms, nights or weekends! I've done about 31 years of shifts and it starts to take its toll."

But the once-reluctant copper admitted to having mixed feelings about leaving the job.

"I shall certainly miss the banter, the comradeship and lots of my colleagues. I'd like to think I've given a service to the community, especially over the past 12 years in West Craven. I hope I've done a good job and I'll miss not being involved as much."

He said he would also miss not knowing what each day would bring, saying his time in the police was like the catchphrase from the 1960's children's TV show Stingray - "Anything can happen in the next 30 minutes!"

PC Hollingworth's colleague Sgt Henderson joined the Burnley Borough Police Cadets in 1968 and saw the organisation amalgamated into the Lancashire Constabulary in 1971.

As part of their training, Cadets were sent to work with various departments of Burnley Borough Council, including "on the bins", giving the raw recruits some experience of the real world.

From 1971 to '76 the young PC patrolled the busy Burnley beat, before a change of pace as the Worsthorne village bobby. He later worked in the Padiham and Clitheroe areas before promotion to sergeant and a posting to Nelson. From 1992 he served at Colne before taking over at Barnoldswick in 2000.

He described the past 14 months as "a very pleasant end to an enjoyable career", adding: "I've been amazed at how friendly the people here are".

From day one, local people found his door open and Sgt Henderson happy to talk to them.

"West Craven is a good area for community policing because it's close knit," he said. "People here are very protective of the services they've got and they like to get involved. There's a lot of interest in what the police are doing and people have been very supportive of the initiatives we've tried to bring in."

Sgt Henderson added: "I've enjoyed getting involved in the community, by going to meetings and just talking to people. A lot of people have come in to see me and I've welcomed that. Police officers should be accessible and able to speak freely."

Looking back on his career, he said the thing he would miss most would be the camaraderie. One of the biggest changes had been in technology, he said, but there was also a lot more "political correctness" in the job now.

But he added: "It's a constantly changing job and we need to accept that and embrace it."

Sgt Henderson said he had been lucky to have an experienced team at Barnoldswick and thanked them for their support.

But at 49, he won't be putting his feet up.

Instead he's taken a job with Hyndburn Borough Council's environmental health department, where he'll put his experience to good use making sure the borough's taxis and doormen are up to scratch.