LOCAL police constable Bill Pitt has died aged 80. At six feet six tall and 17 stone, he was a recognisable presence on his beat around Ilkley until his retirement after 30 years of service in 1988.

Over his career, Bill played a part in Ilkley history. In March 1967 he was called help to deal with unrest when Jimmy Hendrix played at the Troutbeck Hotel.

Doors were ripped off, electrical fittings ripped out and furniture smashed furniture after his sergeant stepped on stage to stop Hendrix playing. He also helped evacuate the Ilkley Moor Hotel on Skipton Road when it was ravaged by fire killing four people in July 1968.

The hotel was subsequently demolished, leaving only the part of the building which is now Ilkley Moor Vaults.

Bill was selected to represent West Yorkshire police at the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales in July 1969 at Caernarfon Castle. He was part of the police guard of honour and the ceremony was watched by millions on TV.

During the seventies he was also selected to represent Ilkley on a civic exchange visit to twin town Coutances in France.

He caused a stir patrolling on French streets in his English uniform and bobbies helmet. In 1979 he helped deal with policing after the attack on 21-year-old Ilkley Gazette reporter Yvonne Mysliwiec by Peter Sutcliffe, the “Yorkshire Ripper”, as she walked over the footbridge onto Railway Road.

Over the years he acted as ‘coroner’s officer’ for several sudden deaths, suicides, and murders, often arriving first on the scene. He also dealt with countless burglaries, road traffic accidents and domestic disputes in Ilkley.

He received a Commendation for bravery from the Chief Constable after disturbing a burglary in progress, when he chased two men on foot across fields, swam across the River Wharf and apprehended one of the men, detaining him physically until help arrived.

His police career was not all so exciting however. He spent weeks on traffic duty in Ilkley town centre when the railway viaduct linking the line through to Skipton was demolished in 1973. During the miners’ strike in 1984, West Yorkshire police were offered overtime supporting their colleagues on the picket lines in South Yorkshire. Bill didn’t take up the opportunity, his loyalties being divided because he had grown up in a mining community.

Bill spent night shifts keeping order when the pubs closed, then patrolling the streets, often on foot.

In those days, minor unrest was often resolved by a strong word or guiding hand.

If there was any trouble, the pubs, chip shops and take-aways of Ilkley were always grateful to see his considerable profile appear in their doorways.

Bill knew most of the ‘bad lads’ in Ilkley. And they knew him. A proponent of old-fashioned methods of policing, he also knew the characters who just needed a strong warning or to be given what he called a “thick ear”.

Towards the end of his career in the eighties, Bill became a Crime Prevention Officer advising local householders on how to secure their doors and windows to prevent burglary. This also involved giving lots of advice over cups of tea and cake with the grateful residents of Ilkley. Throughout his police career, he resisted pressure to take his sergeant exams, as promotion could have meant leaving Ilkley, the town he loved.

He was also a cub scout leader with 1st Ben Rhydding and a coach at Ilkley Swimming Club, proving that the best police officers are part of the community they served.

Bill believed that policing should be locally controlled and based on mutual trust. After retiring, he became a school governor at Bolling Road Primary in Ben Rhydding where his wife Muriel was a teacher, also helping children with art and crafts. His funeral will be held at St John's Church in Ben Rhydding at 11am on Friday, April 6.