A NURSE has retired after 46 years of service with the NHS.

Community staff nurse Chris Verity started work in October 1959 at St James' Hospital, in Leeds, where she trained as a staff nurse and later as a midwife.

In 1976, she transferred to the Friarage Hospital before more recently joining the Mayford House surgery, both in Northallerton.

Mrs Verity will continue to be involved in the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the local primary care trust (PCT).

She is looking forward to spending more time travelling in Europe with her husband, Brian, gardening and carriage driving.

"I've had a very enjoyable and varied career in the NHS and have met some lovely people, but will look forward to continuing my association with the PCT and the RCN," she said.

Mark Wheatley, district nurse at Mayford House, said: "The team will miss Chris's sense of humour, her dedication and belief in fairness and what is right, her tenacity and overall her kindness and loyalty.

"Patients will miss her ability to put them at ease, her kindness and her experience."