National Trust volunteer still loves role at 91

Malcolm Walford has worked and volunteered at Croome for 71 years and is known by the staff there as "Grandad Croome"

A 91-year-old man who has worked and volunteered for more than seven decades at a National Trust property has said he still loves his role there.

Malcolm Walford has been at Croome in Worcestershire since 24 August 1953 and even has a burial plot reserved in the churchyard.

"I shall be here as the ghost of Croome," he laughed, when asked if he would ever leave.

Mr Walford said he was over the moon to receive a letter on behalf of the King last year, thanking him for his 71 years of service.

The letter said King Charles was heartened by Mr Walford's appreciation for the natural landscape and heritage of Croome.

"So he's a friend of mine [now], a good friend of mine," he joked.

Mr Walford ended up working at Croome after his father told him and his brother, who were all living in Wolverhampton, that they needed to hand their notices in as they were moving to Worcestershire to be close to their grandmother.

He then got a job at RAF Defford, which closed in 1953.

"The rest is history," the 91-year-old said, despite admitting he "couldn't hack it" on his first day.

He started work there as a stonemason's labourer, with jobs including sweeping snow off the Croome Church, cleaning out wells, digging out septic tanks, roofing, and lorry driving.

"You could be doing any job under the sun," he said.

Mr Walford was thanked by King Charles in a letter sent on his behalf

Mr Walford said he never would have thought he would still be volunteering at Croome at 91 and still wants to be there next year.

"They look after me, the girls in the canteen, the staff in the offices, the court, the reception," he said.

"They've started calling me Grandad Croome now and its lovely.

"I didn't think I'd reach this age, but both my parents reached 92, so if I could reach 92 next year at Croome, that's going to be a kingpin in my life."