I WAS amused to read John Hinton's story of the poor lady confused by the police civil defence instructor which resulted in her putting her foot in a bucket of water.

During the war an upmarket ladies group was having a lecture given by a police civil defence instructor on the effects of bomb blast. He startled them when he shouted "Ladies, the blast from his bomb would blow your blooming knickers off!"

Apparently there was a run on stronger elastic at the drapers the next day.

Characters in the local police abounded. One legend was Sergeant Jack, a mild-looking man with glasses perched on the end of his nose but with the build of a Russian weightlifter. In fact, his uniforms had to be specially made to fit his massive shoulders.

Jack was a keen fisherman and one day, when he was off duty, he toddled down to our police waters on the River Teme at Lower Wick only to find two strangers already fishing. Jack politely told them to pack up but they started to give him some lip and suggested he buzzed off or something a little stronger.

Jack saw red and started chucking all their fishing equipment into the water and they were lucky they didn't follow suit. Naturally he was put on a charge - but he always maintained he was stopping them nicking our fish!

Sadly they have both passed on. But if there is a Nick in the sky they would both liven it up!

JOE WALTER,

Worcester.