A selfless man who gave up his time to volunteer as a police constable is marking 40 years in the service.

Ron McMurdie only decided to volunteer after a chance meeting with a special constable over his "terrible" neighbours - and the rest his history.

“I was always interested in the police," he said.

"At the time we had terrible neighbours and one night the police were called.

"Two officers attended, one of whom was a special. They came to our house and I got chatting to the Special.

"The next day I went to Oxhey station, picked up a form and that was it.”

He was first posted to Watford.

His first shift was on a Saturday night and they were walking along the high street, and entered the pedestrian precinct when they found a man riding a motorcycle.

He added: "We stopped him and I arrested him for drink driving. It was my first arrest and I was on duty until 7am dealing with him in custody.”

In 1980 he was transferred to Rickmansworth as a Sergeant and promoted to Inspector in 1982.

Ron is now a Chief Inspector and has been in post since March 2018.

The role sees him supervising Special Inspectors across the ten districts in Hertfordshire and working closely with the regular constabulary management team to ensure that Specials are supporting the constabulary.

He also provides ‘bronze cover’ which involves calling upon off-duty Specials where they are required at short notice.

Ron added: “The role is a new challenge for me, although I still love my Friday nights on duty in Rickmansworth supporting the Intervention team.”

He added: “Perceptions of Specials have vastly changed since I started.

"You weren’t trusted to hold a torch back then but now our Specials are fully integrated with regular officers, working shoulder to shoulder.

"We’re the victims of our own success because we are called upon more and more. The training is much better and there’s so much support available.

“If anyone is thinking of becoming a special, I’d say ‘do it’. I thoroughly recommend it.

"You see a different side of the world that you wouldn’t experience if you just did your 9 to 5 job. You simply don’t get the experiences of life that we do.

“In Hertfordshire Constabulary they talk about the ‘Herts Family’ and that’s very true. It’s like an extended family and you get good support from all your colleagues across the organisation.”

Giving on average 30 hours per month since the beginning of his Special career, Ron has racked up thousands of volunteering hours.

To celebrate his 40 years, he and his wife joined Deputy Chief Constable Michelle Dunn and Special Chief Officer Mark Kendrew at a lunch a Police Headquarters on Friday, August 24.

He will also be attending the Special Constabulary Rosette dinner, a black tie event at the Honourable Artillery Company in the City of London, which celebrates Specials with more 19 or more years’ service. He will be presented with a rosette in front of two close colleagues, Special Chief Officer Mark Kendrew and other Special Constables from across the country.

Ron said: “I have really enjoyed the past 40 years. It’s gone so quickly and it’s quite emotional looking back. I’ve no plans to stop just yet. In fact, I’m giving more time than ever before.”