WHITCHURCH Sergeant Nigel Palmer is hanging up his uniform and packing his bags when he retires from the police force after 30 years.

Next week Sgt Palmer will be handing over his uniform and preparing to set off on his travels across America for a year.

His career in the police force has given him the opportunity to do things he had never done before, including meeting royalty.

More than anything, he said, he will miss the people he works with, people in the community and being able to 'put things right'.

Latterly he has been working as a beat manager, in charge of beat officers.

He said there are many exciting parts to a job in the police force but also some very emotional ones.

He remembers being called to an incident where a man was threatening to jump off the roof of a church whilst a wedding was going on inside.

Another sad incident which sticks in his mind was a triple fatality on the A303 involving a mother and two children.

The husband had been driving the vehicle in front and seen his wife career off the road and over the crash barrier. Sgt Palmer, aged 51, said: "You have got the exciting parts of the job but you also have to look after and deal with the next of kin.

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