A JUSTICE of the Peace who proved he was certainly up to the "bench" mark for a decade has retired.

Mr Alan Herricks has had to stand down as a magistrate because he has reached the age of 70.

For the previous 10 years, he had served as a JP at Bury Magistrates Court and was also an appraiser, monitoring the performance of fellow JPs.

The Bradley Fold man took early retirement from Norweb at the age of 50 after working with the company for 24 years. He had held the position of corporate events manager. Later, he took a part-time job with a Salford-based housing association which subsequently became a full-time post. He left there at the age of 57.

Mr Herricks is a also a former Labour councillor who represented the Unsworth ward between 1970 and 74 prior to local government reorganisation.

Ten years ago, he decided to apply to be a magistrate after seeing an advertisement for vacancies.

He said: "This was primarily due to the fact I had been involved in the public sector and public service. I probably sat on the bench a couple of times a month.

"I was also an appraiser at courts in Bury and Bolton, reviewing how magistrates were performing and ensuring they were carrying out their duties in accordance with the guidelines laid down."

However, having reluctantly retired from the bench, Mr Herricks added: "I didn't want to finish. I still feel active, physically and mentally. It's just laid down that you have to retire at the age of 70."

To mark his 10 years as a JP, he was presented with an ornamental letter-opener by bench chairman Mr Tony Cope at a ceremony attended by many fellow magistrates.

Mr Herricks has been married to his wife, Margaret, for 46 years and the couple have a son and daughter, Andrew and Joanne, and three grandchildren.