Former PC, 96, gets to sit in police car again

Larry Smith said the visit brought back lots of memories

A 96-year-old former police officer was surprised by a visit from a PCSO who let him sit in her police car.

Larry Smith said it was fun to turn on the lights and siren again and it felt like his "normal routine" - even though he retired more than four decades ago.

The visit was arranged by Milford House Care Home in Derbyshire, where Larry lives.

The former PC 240 Smith, who has dementia, said it brought back lots of memories.

"We did everything - accidents, murders, anything that happened," he said.

"There were high-speed cars, the fastest would be about 70mph, but we only travelled at speeds like that if we were after someone on a motorway."

Larry Smith (middle, second row) became a police officer in 1948

Mr Smith was born in Mayfield in Staffordshire in 1927, and grew up in nearby Ashbourne in Derbyshire.

After serving as a police officer in the RAF, he joined what was then Nottingham City Police in 1948.

Mr Smith said one of his colleagues was usually the driver, while he was the "runner" and chased suspects to arrest them.

"I made quite a few arrests, obviously," he said.

He also remembered delivering two or three babies, and received a commendation for one.

"The lady went into labour, her husband called me [in off the street], and I delivered the baby in her house, which was in the Radford area," he said.

"I was not exactly a greenhorn, because I had worked on cattle farms."

The former police officer said it was fun to turn on the siren and lights again

He said he enjoyed his job, apart from when he had to work as a mortuary officer.

"I had to deal with all the sudden deaths," he said. "That wasn't a very pleasant job at all.

"You would get them in as presentable position as you possibly could, bearing in mind some were in road accidents and were a bit messy and a bit mutilated."

Mr Smith retired from the police in 1978 after 30 years of service, by which time he was working for Derbyshire Constabulary.

"I worked until I retired and after being in the police force I messed about and did other jobs," he said.

Larry Smith, pictured here in Egypt, also served in the RAF

The surprise was arranged by Kirsty Swift, a dementia care coach at Milford House.

"I was just having a conversation with Larry and he expressed he wanted to see a modern day police car," she said.

She contacted Derbyshire Police and PCSO Bev Barnes visited two days later.

"He didn't know until he saw the car, it was lovely," said Ms Swift.

"He showed the police officer his medals and his photos and he sat in the driver's seat and he was reminiscing about his time as a police officer.

"He was thrilled and he said it was a really unexpected surprise."

Larry Smith said modern police cars are more comfortable than old ones

PCSO Barnes said it was "a privilege" to visit Mr Smith.

"He had a sit inside and I was showing him the different buttons and the computers, which they wouldn't have had back in the day," she said.

"He also said they are a lot more comfortable now than what they were then."