STEPHEN PULLINGER It has been, at times, a turbulent love affair that he has valiantly tried to hide for more than three decades. While going home time is a cue for most of Adrian Warman's colleagues on Broadland District Council to start winding down, his working day has often just been taking off.

STEPHEN PULLINGER

It has been, at times, a turbulent love affair that he has valiantly tried to hide for more than three decades.

While going home time is a cue for most of Adrian Warman's colleagues on Broadland District Council to start winding down, his working day has often just been taking off.

For the past 36 years, instead of settling down in front of the television for the evening, Mr Warman has been just as likely to make a quick change out of his regulation jacket and tie and into a police uniform.

During his long stint as a police special, rising to the rank of area commander - the most senior part-timer in the Eastern division - he has helped to quell hordes of mods on Yarmouth seafront, stood in a police line to subdue visiting fans at Norwich City Football Club and even earned a judge's commendation for going to the aid of a fellow officer under attack in Yarmouth Market Place.

However, during all that time Mr Warman, 60, of Bradwell, near Yarmouth, has kept his unpaid interest a secret from colleagues in successive council jobs in Norfolk and Suffolk. "I have always kept the two sides of my life strictly separate," he said. "I have been more than happy just doing my bit dealing with the public."

His evening and weekend colleagues at Yarmouth police station finally bade him farewell this week - leaving him just with the day job - after a fittingly Royal final engagement, helping to provide police cover for the Queen at Sandringham on New Year's Eve.

The father of two said he had been happy to work up to 50 hours a month as an unpaid volunteer and had never wanted to join the regulars, despite being approached several times.

"I have always been interested in the police and the opportunity it gives you to work with the public. Some of the people you deal with makes you appreciate coming from a stable family and having a stable background," he said.

Mr Warman, who worked as a special in Suffolk for five years before transferring to Norfolk in 1975, has spent his latter years mainly office bound, supervising more than 100 volunteer officers around Yarmouth.

But over the years he has turned out to police events as varied as Blickling Hall concerts, the Royal Norfolk Show and stately occasions at Sandringham. And many a Saturday night has ended on the public order van sweeping up drunks on Yarmouth's streets.

Mr Warman, whose council work has involved dealing with the public in finance and housing, said he had noticed an escalation in violent behaviour. "People get more drunk and more aggressive, and police are no longer given the respect they once had," he said.

He is not severing his connection with Norfolk police for he is about to start another voluntary role as co-ordinator of volunteers across the eastern area who will man police stations to extend their hours.

Area commander Chief Supt Charlie Hall paid tribute to Mr Warman, saying he had been "instrumental in developing a strong special constabulary that contribute many hours of service to local communities".