Halifax milkman Paul Jackson set to retire after 50 years of rounds

Paul Jackson, 61, started out as a boy delivering doorstep pintas with his dad.

The round, which covers Savile Park and Skircoat Green, started in 1970 and Paul bought it from his brother when he was 19.

Since then he’s only had a couple of days off at a time and he’s ready for a break from the early morning routine.

Paul said: “I’ve never had a proper holiday, in fact I’ve never been away for more than four days ever.

“You can go away but it’s always in the back of your mind that you’ll have to do the milk in the morning.”

Paul’s retirement comes after a successful year for his business thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

When lockdown happened in March his phone never stopped ringing and he’s picked up around 100 new customers this year.

Even though his business is on the up Paul says the time has come to hand over the reins.

He had originally planned to retire in June but stayed on to support his customers.

He enlisted the help of his partner Ruth Roberts, 56, and says he wouldn’t have been able to carry on the expanded round without her.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it on my own but now we’re both looking forward to getting away,” he added.

Paul loves agricultural shows and planned to retire and enjoy them this summer. When they were all cancelled he decided to carry on working.

However he added: “I didn’t want to do another winter.”

Paul has seen lots of change and many milkmen were wiped out in the 1980s when the supermarkets started selling cheap milk.

Many milkmen in their 50s decided to call it a day and Paul survived by taking on their rounds. He made ends meet with a farm job and delivery work.

Paul has endured some terrible winters not least 1978-79 when there was one morning he couldn’t finish his round due to the snow and biting winds.

He now delivers three mornings a week and is up at 4.30am.

He’s seen some strange sights over the years too.

“I once saw a lass naked running down the street before dashing into a house,” he said.

Paul has also been first on the scene of burglaries and also a double death.

He also went above and beyond for his customers. “There was one lady where I would go into her house, light the fire and make her a cup of tea,” he said.

Paul retires on October 31 and his round will be taken over by Debbie Ogden, who is expanding her existing business.