Ponteland Fire Station have said farewell to a fireman who is retiring after 28 years of service.

Keith Carmichael, of Ponteland, leaves the fire station after joining in 1993.

The 53-year-old was awarded a commemorative plack on his last shift which thanked him for 28 years of service at the community fire station.

The plack was presented to him by General Manager Steve Kennedy in front of the Ponteland crew.

Keith recalls how he had joined the service. He said: "I had met up with the Crew Manager (Dan) of the fire station at a friends wedding and he told me a bit about the opportunity. It sounded good and I could earn some extra money but also help the community."

The next thing Keith knew, he had been in the service for 28 years. Unfortunately Keith had suffered an injury last year which made him think that it was time to retire from the station.

Mr Carmichael said: "After 28 years in the service, I realised that I wasn't as fit. Especially after injuring my shoulder last year, which after an operation last December, I was only recover from it with physiotherapy. I thought that I would let the young lions coming through in so I stepped aside.

"I have had good and bad times within the service, thankfully the good definitely outweighed the bad. I have had many good times to reflect back on, and I will miss the crew at Ponteland, but no doubt I will

call in from time to time on their drill night."

Group Manager for Community Risk and Response Steve Kennedy commends Keith for his time and service.

He said:"Keith has been an active member of our on call crew at Ponteland Fire Station for 28 years, the dedication to keeping our communities safe over those years is nothing short of impressive.

"His knowledge and experience has been invaluable as newer on call firefighters have joined the crew.

"We we are actively recruiting for on call firefighters so please do get in touch via our website or your local fire station."