Bill Carter, transport manager for Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service, was in for a few surprises when he retired on Wednesday.

He left his base at Eastleigh, thinking he was being driven to his home in Winnall, Winchester - but he ended up at the city's fire station where a rather large welcoming committee was waiting.

Chief fire officer, Malcolm Eastwood, met Bill (60) and there was a big kiss for his wife, Dee.

Bill was invited to unveil a fire engine - which he was surprised to see emblazoned with Dee's name, reviving the tradition of calling tenders after ladies associated with the service.

In his 45-year career, Bill not only built fire engines but was also a retained firefighter.

It was in 1959, when he was 15, that he started as an apprentice mechanic at the Winnall workshops.

At this time, engines were built there as well as maintained, modified and serviced.

He went from mechanic to chargehand and foreman and became an expert in everything to do with fire vehicles.

He joined the retained fire service at Winchester, becoming a leading fireman.

"I started off with a love of motorcycles and happened to have a friend working for the fire service," Bill recalled. "My father wanted me to join the post office but I wanted to get into mechanics.

With his appointment as transport manager at headquarters in Eastleigh in 1988, Bill reluctantly gave up his work as a firefighter.

His father had been in the Auxiliary Fire Service and his son, Colin, continued the family tradition, working with Bill at Eastleigh, where he is an operational equipment technician.

"Lots of people have been coming up to me and thanking me. I didn't realise how many people I had helped until today. I've had a great time," said Bill.