Animal charity worker retires after 50 years

Neil Edwards has worked with Blue Cross since 1974, and is the charity's longest serving employee

A man who has dedicated his working life to helping tens of thousands of injured, sick or abandoned pets retires from his charity job on Friday.

Neil Edwards, 67, who manages the Blue Cross centre in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, is the charity's longest serving employee.

He was first employed in 1974, having previously volunteered as a teenager for Blue Cross at its animal hospital in London, and plans to continue volunteering following his retirement.

"I always wanted to work with animals, and have been very lucky, but to do 50 years in one organisation is amazing," he said.

Mr Edwards used to be part of the Blue Cross ambulance service

Mr Edwards and his wife Avril moved from London to turn a former boarding kennels in Bromsgrove into a rehoming centre in 1986.

He said it was a big change, but he was proud of how the centre had grown, and the number of animals they had been able to help.

"People come back and say 'I had a dog from you 12 years ago' and [other] fond memories - that's great."

He said he had been very lucky with the team he had at Bromsgrove, and the fact that every day had been different was part of the appeal of the job.

"You never know what you are going to face, you've got the day planned in your head... but you could find an animal dumped outside, an animal poorly overnight, a team member off sick," he explained.

Mr Edwards was tasked with turning boarding kennels in Bromsgrove into an adoption centre in 1986

Mr Edwards and his wife have lived at the centre in Bromsgrove, and raised their three now-adult children there.

"The house that we live in they class as their home," he said of his family. "We obviously have to move out now and start a new life, but it's great for us to have a new adventure as well."