OUR story about the police on point duty at the top of Church Street, outside Lloyds Bank in Blackburn, brought back memories and a smile with it, for Eric Nolan.

The stalwart of Blackburn Drama Club recalled working at Nevilles, near Darwen Street bridge as a book keeper, when he took his driving test in 1965.

One of the women at the firm was a Brenda Hopgood or Hopwood, who was often collected by her policeman husband when she finished work at the end of the day.

Said Eric: “The afternoon I had my driving test I had to go home to Wilpshire on the bus to meet my dad, who had come out of work at J & S Leaver’s Garage, at Eanam, so I could drive my 1945 Singer Sports to the driving test centre on Preston New Road.

“I had bought the car earlier in the year, for all of £45!”

He continued: “After taking and passing my test, in the driving school’s brand new Triumph Herald, I then drove my dad back to work and then set off proudly back to work myself.

“So there I was, with the car’s hood and sides down, despite the autumn weather, driving up Church Street and correctly pulling up to a halt, on the signal from the policeman on point duty.

“Imagine my horror when I saw that the policeman had stopped all the traffic from the other streets and was pointing at me, indicating that I should drive up and stop in front of him.

“I was in a state of panic, thinking maybe my indicator lights weren’t flashing properly, or that I was doing something wrong in the very first few hours of passing my test!

“However, when I got in front of him, I recognised Brenda’s husband who had, over the previous few weeks, been pulling my leg while I had been having my driving lessons and teasing me about the test.”

He adde: “At least those were the days you could have a laugh with a policeman, albeit in the middle of the road, while the rest of the stationary traffic thought about that poor driver in the old banger getting a public ticking off.”

Eric does not recall which Good Samaritan provided a box of straw for the constable on point duty to keep his feet warm, but he does know of one person who thought of the poor old Bobby out in he cold on traffic duty a generation before — his grandma.

His grandfather was Insp Nolan at Copy Nook police station and his wife used to send flasks of hot cocoa via the trams to officers on point duty – but that’s a story for another day.