A LONG-SERVING policeman has died aged 83.
Kenneth James joined the police force in 1938 and served for 30 years, spending ten years as sergeant in charge at Sedgefield.
He served at several stations in the region before joining Sedgefield and settling there in 1956.
His daughter Wendy Innes said he was very much a community policeman.
She said: "He believed that a policeman should know exactly what was going on and it was definitely a hands-on approach.
"He knew everybody in the area and if a crime was committed, as soon as he started investigating he knew who to go to."
Mr James, a great-grandfather, left the police force after a two- year spell as an inspector in West Hartlepool and spent ten years working at Durham County council before retiring in 1978.
He was a lifelong Sunderland fan and played for Blyth Spartans as a young man.
Mr James leaves a widow, Daisy. His funeral took place on Tuesday at St Edmund's Church.
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