A DOCTOR who has served a north Durham community for more than a quarter of a century has retired.

Dr Mohammad Rahman has worked as GP at Stanley Health Centre since January 2, 1982.

He moved to Britain from Bangladesh in 1972 and worked in hospitals in Oxford, Manchester Pontefract and Worksop before settling in the North-East.

Dr Rahman said: "The people around here are nice and I have tried my best to help them the best I could.

"Most people are reasonable healthy and I think they have been happy with my service."

Dr Rahman’s wife Sunny, who works as an anaesthetist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, is retiring at the end of the month.

They plan to go on holidays including a safari in Africa and a cruise to the Bahamas.

Dr Rahman added: "I am going to rest a for a few weeks before we decide what to do. There are no certain plans."