POSTMAN Brian Martin has said farewell to his colleagues after delivering mail in the Maidstone area for the past 47 years.

Mr Martin, 63, who lives with his wife, Betty, in Tonbridge Road, Maidstone, was well-known by families in the Bower Street and Bower Mount Road area for 28 years. He has spent the last eight years on rounds in the town centre.

He said: "I have enjoyed it all and it was very difficult to make the decision to give it up." Mr Martin started work as a telegram boy at the age of 16 and became a postman at the age of 18.

He was called up for National Service when he worked for the Army post office in Germany delivering mail to British soldiers stationed across the country. He said: "I wanted to do something different and learn something new during my National Service but I ended up in the post office because they were short of postal workers."

He says the best feature about his job was the friendships he formed. He said: "In Bower Mount Road I was around when children were born and growing up, going to school, getting married and even having children themselves. I was like one of the family."

Mr Martin has been presented with a long service certificate by the Royal Mail. He used the long-service points he amassed over the years to buy himself a new watch and television.