FUNERAL director Alan Taylor officially retired from the job that he loves last week.

The 66-year-old, originally from Racecommon Road but now living in South Kirkby, began working for Co-op Funeralcare on November 8 in 1984 - and he says that he’s loved working there.

He directed his last funeral on Thursday last week but he’s hoping to still be involved in some capacity after directing more than 15,000 funerals over the last four decades.

He told the Chronicle: “I was the manager of a camera shop but they went bust.

“I saw an advert in the Chronicle asking for a hearse driver and so I decided to apply.

“I got the job on November 5 in 1984 which was a Friday and then I started work on the Monday.

“I was doing that for 18 months before the manager said to me that there’s a place for a funeral director - they said if I didn’t like it then I could go back to doing what I was doing so it was a win-win.

“Since then I’ve probably done more than 15,000 funerals.”

Alan admits that his retirement will take some getting used to but he’s hoping to work the odd day during the week to keep him going.

“It’s been a pleasure working with Co-op for so long,” he said.

“They’ve been like a family to me so stopping will probably take some getting used to.

“I’m at a bit of a loose end - I need something to do during the week.

“The amount of people that have posted on Facebook about me is unbelievable.

“You don’t really think about how many people you’ve supported while you’re doing it.”