Council's long-serving 'superstars' praised

Alan Heels (left) and Phil Doherty (right), pictured with Adele Wylie, said they were proud of their service to people in Northamptonshire

Two long-serving "superstars" have been praised by a council after achieving a milestone in their work for local government.

Alan Heels and Phil Doherty, who began working as apprentices aged 16 have both reached 50 years of service for local authorities in Northamptonshire.

Mr Heels started his career in Kettering while Mr Doherty began in Corby. Both have worked in housing maintenance for North Northamptonshire Council since its inception in 2021, however they only recently met and bonded over their common experience.

Adele Wylie, chief executive at North Northants, said the pair were "truly inspiring" and said it was "clear their experience is so valuable".

Over the course of 50 years the pair, now in their 60s, noted a number of changes – notably being issued with bicycles as their early mode of work transport and later using walkie-talkies for communications.

Mr Doherty started as an apprentice heating engineer at Corby District Council (later renamed Corby Borough Council), while Mr Heels began as a plumbing and heating apprentice at Kettering Borough Council.

Mr Heels said: "It [the council] has looked after me, and I like to think I've looked after the council."

Mr Doherty said: "The council have always made me feel like part of the team. Throughout that career I've had endless training and honestly I couldn't promote working for a council more."

He added that a stand-out he found "most pleasing" was managing the major modernisation and refurbishments of sheltered accommodation projects in North Northants.

Martin Griffiths, Reform UK's leader of the North Northants Council, said Mr Doherty's "unwavering commitment to our community is deeply valued".

He added that Mr Heels "exemplifies the values we hold dear in public service - integrity, hard work, and a genuine commitment to others".