THE SOUND of horses' hooves every morning was a familiar one to customers of one well-loved Radcliffe milkman.

Mr Richard Greenhalgh, of Outwood Farm, was the oldest milk roundsman in the town half a century ago.

He was also one of only two farmers in the town to retain the use of the horse drawn float for his deliveries.

The Radcliffe Times visited the farm when Mr Greenhalgh retired, at the age of 65, in November, 1962.

He had been delivering milk, eggs and poultry for more than 56 years to people in the Stand Lane and Outwood districts.

He began helping his father at the age of nine, when the family had already occupied the farm for some 50 years.

And there was plenty to keep him busy in the years that followed, with an eventual round of between 500 and 600 houses.

News that he was finishing his deliveries meant that only one man, farmer John Dalby of Outwood Gate Farm, would be delivering his milk using a horse drawn vehicle in future.

Mr Greenhalgh was certainly very popular with local folk. For his retirement he received many callers at the farm anxious to give him their best wishes and leave a gift, most of which were cigars.

Said Mr Greenhalgh: "After 56 years as a tradesman I have not a single complaint to make.

"Radcliffe folk are the best and most hospitable you could hope to meet. To my wife and myself, every one of our customers has been a personal friend."

Mr Greenhalgh had only three weeks of sickness throughout his working life and found that, upon checking his books, not a single penny was owed to him by customers.

"The honesty of Radcliffe people cannot be matched. During all my 56 years I have never had a pint of milk stolen," he declared.

And the service that the farmer offered in return was second to none.

Mr Greenhalgh recalled how, for several years, he called every morning at the home of am elderly disabled lady who lived alone.

He would brew her tea, light the fire and make the bed for her before going on with the rest of his round.

"She was always good to me and so when the time came for me to help her, I did what I could," he said.

Mr and Mrs Greenhalgh planned to spend their retirement on the farm.

"I wouldn't leave Radcliffe for a gold clock," said Mr Greenhalgh.

His round was taken over by Whitewell Dairies in Accrington, who were to make their deliveries using motorised floats.