A Dereham GP is hanging up his stethoscope after treating thousands of patients over the last 30 years.

Dr Andrew Marczewski, senior partner at the town's Orchard Surgery, retires at the end of the month and is looking forward to a bit of a rest after starting work in the town in April, 1981.

The GP, who lives in Yaxham, has been busy saying goodbye to his many patients and said he would miss chatting to people day-to-day.

'It's really nice to be local and to know people in the area,' he said. 'What I like most about being a GP is seeing the same people time and time again.'

One of Dr Marczewski's proudest moments was when he became a 'medical granddad' for the first time, helping to care for a new baby after treating its mother as a child.

When he started at the surgery, it was based near the war memorial in the market place and he oversaw its move to a new premises in Commercial Road three years later.

In 2006, the building was replaced with a spacious new �2m surgery so it could take on more staff and patients and Dr Marczewski was involved in its design.

'I'm going to miss talking to people the most,' he said. 'I see around 30 to 40 patients a day and all day long you are chatting. Sometimes it's heavy and sometimes it's light.'

The father-of-three, who has been married to wife Katy - a nurse - for nearly 30 years, plans to stay in the area once he has retired and devote more time to green woodwork.

He is also an active member of Yaxham Woodlands Group, which clears, tidies and maintains woodland in the area.

Dr Marczewski will be replaced by Dr Peter Read, who is coming over to Dereham from Attleborough.