WHEN Shirley Talboys puts away Wixford Parish Council's minute book in June, it will mark the end of more than 40 years in local government.

Mrs Talboys, who lives in Georges Elm Lane, is retiring as clerk to the council, a post she took up on June 1, 1993.

Before that, she had full-time jobs in the housing department of Worcester City Council and as a housing assistant with Alcester Rural District Council.

In 1974, she also became deputy registrar of births, deaths and marriages and although she took early retirement in 1989, she continued to work on the elections for the council.

As parish clerk, her first achievement was to get the telephone box in Wixford registered as a listed building.

"We were told that BT had a policy of getting rid of them and replacing them with plastic things, so we went about getting it listed. We took photographs of it in its lovely rural setting and sent them off to London and it was agreed."

That was in 1994. Two years later, Mrs Talboys started the Wixford News and in 1998 set up the village website.

Also during her time there has been a parish appraisal, she has seen two council chairman go to royal garden parties at Buckingham Palace and the village grow with the addition of nine new houses at Church Fields.

Her successor, Tony Burford, will inherit "the never-ending changes of legislation" while she turns her attention to travel, gardening and her pedigree cats.