A MILKMAN is tohang up his bottles and retire today after 50 years on the job.

Melvyn Hamer, 65, of Honeyfield Road, Rassau, has been delivering milk to the Ebbw Vale area since the age of 15. He started in 1965 straight out of school and has spent the last 12 years as a self-employed milk man.

The milkman’s day starts at 4am when he delivers his rounds and finishes about 10am. Mr Hamer works a six day week with Sundays as his day off and delivers around 400 pints of milk a day.

He then collects the bottles on Thursdays and Fridays.

He said: "It's not as popular as it used to be. It's loyalty more than anything.

"That's what I will miss most of all is the communicating with customers - I have banter with them. They are a great lot fair play more like friends really."

He added: “I left school in July in 1965 on the Friday and started working on the Monday for the Cooperative Dairies - I had £5.19 and a penny. I worked in the dairies as a school boy on the weekend.”

Mr Hamer then went on to work for Strouds Dairy in Ebbw Vale where he worked for 28 years.

He said: "It was a big company -at the time everybody had milk. We delivered about 1,500 pints a day and it was seven days a week back then.

“I went self-employed about 12 years ago. There is no use worrying as you can’t sell as cheaply as the supermarkets – you can’t compete with them on that.”

Mr Hamer gets his milk from Bartonsham Farm Dairy in Hereford. Ebbw Vale customers won’t be without a milk man as father and son Andrew and Jamie king will be taking over Mr Hamer's round.

The long serving milkman also runs the Heads of the Valleys Amateur Boxing Club based in Woodtown. He has been involved in the club for the past 40 years and now organises matches and coaches players.

He will be celebrating his retirement with his wife of 47 years Sonia, their three children and three grandchildren with Sunday lunch out tomorrow.