AFTER 20 years in this country, 10 of them living in Skipton, big rugby league star Joe Grima has returned to his native New Zealand.

He arrived to play rugby league and while he reached the top in his chosen sport, he also made a big impact in the community in other spheres.

He was a very effective community worker for Keighley Cougars, a successful businessman and a tireless worker for charity.

But he flew out at the weekend with his eldest son, also called Joe, to rejoin his wife Louisa and younger children back in his native Auckland.

"It's very sad. England has been good to me, I have made a lot of friends, met a lot of very good people but your family is the most important thing in your life and this was a family decision," he said.

His wife had grown homesick and a visit last year made her want to return to her roots.

"We decided she would go home, see if she really wanted to stay in New Zealand and find a place for us to live," said Joe. "She was right, she made an excellent call and it's time to leave. But I cannot but thank England for what it has done for the Grimas, the way it has educated my kids and I hope I put a little bit back."

He has no idea what he will do when he returns.

He arrived in this country at the age of 25 to play rugby league with Swinton, who were then one of the better teams.

Big, strong and fast, he made an immediate impact. But off the field he was a gentle giant, never turning down a request for help.

He joined Widnes, then rivalled only by Wigan as the top RL side in this country, and in 1989 he reached the peak of his career when he played in the Widnes team which became the world champions by beating Canberra.

He then joined Keighley Cougars as captain and was a member of their promotion winning side - Joe is the only player to have won a rugby league Division One, Two and Three title winning medals.

When the Cougars set up their "Hall of Fame" Joe Grima was one of only 11 inducted.

He earned even more plaudits for his work in the community. He started the Keighley Cubs junior rugby league and the innovative Pawes scheme - Personal Awards for Excellence Scheme.

He spread anti-drugs messages in the schools and a measure of his impact and how big the organisation became was taking more than 1,000 schoolchildren to Wembley to see the Challenge Cup final.

By now he had settled in Skipton and his children attended St Stephen's School. Son Joe went to Ermysted's and was playing for the first XV up to his departure for New Zealand.

After retiring from rugby, Mr Grima became a successful businessman, his Southern Cross furniture manufacturers supplying the kitchen trade.

"All my experiences have been good ones. I've got a lot to thank England for and I'll miss it. I'm young enough to start all over again, it's just a new chapter. I'd just like to say goodbye and thank you to everyone for having me over here."