A former detective from Darwen has taken a trip back in time behind the wheel of a rare police sports car - the type he first drove back in the 1960s.

John Clark, originally from Lossiemouth in Scotland, joined the police following a dare with a mate when they saw a Lancashire Constabulary recruiting bus while visiting a football match in nearby Elgin.

He was 're-united' with an MGA Roadster at the Lakeland Motor Museum in Cumbria.

The museum exhibit was one of a small number of MGs supplied to Lancashire Constabulary for traffic patrol and training duties more than 60 years ago. 

John drove one of the fleet during his Advance Driver Training in 1962.

“They were happy days!” says John who joined the police in 1956: “It was a beautiful car back then and it’s still a beautiful car now!

“They had only just come out when I first got behind the wheel of one of them so they were brand new. It’s hard to believe they are now a museum piece – time flies!”

(Image: Pete Clark)

Speaking of joining the police force, he said: “We both decided to do the entrance exam there and then and passed” he says. “I never saw the football match!”  

He went on to become a senior detective, served with the Regional Crime Squad and was awarded the Lancashire Constabulary’s William Garnett Cup for bravery after capturing an armed criminal following a rooftop chase. He ended his career as a Chief Superintendent in Lancaster. He retired in 1986.

John added: “When we first arrived at the police driving school we saw all these officers sitting in them with their sunglasses on smiling.

“I was well over six feet tall so it was something of a squeeze to get in. But they were lovely cars to drive.

"It was a bit easier to get behind the wheel back then than it is now I’m in my 90s!"

After his retirement from the police, John went on to become Superintendent of Darwen Market for many years. 

He met his wife, Megan, at the police regional training centre in Warrington. They had two sons and a daughter – all of whom went on to serve in the police force, and is now also a grandad and a great-grandad.