A fantastic 50 years of employment for the local council has been marked with a presentation by the Mayor of Amber Valley, to the Borough Council’s Pete Barnes.

Pete began his working life just two days after England’s famous World Cup win, in August 1966, and has remained a dedicated member of the local authority ever since. His employment began at Heanor Urban District Council, which later became incorporated into Amber Valley Borough Council in the early 1970's.

He is now a member of the Council's Play Safety Team, which looks after the Council's 100 play areas, all over Amber Valley. He modestly kept his long-service achievement to himself and it was only uncovered by colleagues late last year. This led to the special presentation by Mayor, Councillor Richard Iliffe to mark the special and extremely rare milestone.

In making the presentation, Councillor Iliffe commented: "What a tremendous privilege it has been for me to be able to present Pete with this award for his 50 years of outstanding service. To think that he started work with the Council in the summer of England's world cup win - what an amazing achievement this represents."

Pictured, Mayor of Amber Valley, Councillor Richard Iliffe, presents Pete Barnes with a certificate to recognise his incredible long-service milestone.