A FORMER police sergeant who worked in Burnley for nearly 30 years has died.

William Hannah, 70, passed away at his home in Minehead Avenue after a long battle with heart disease.

Mr Hannah spent his entire 27-year career at Burnley Police Station, beginning as a bobby on the beat before rising to the rank of sergeant in CID.

Later working as a desk sergeant, the grandfather eventually retired in 1988.

His wife Doreen, 67, said: “I think what he enjoyed most was working with his colleagues at Burnley Police Station.

“That is what he missed when he retired, the camaraderie at work.”

A former pupil at Heasandford Junior and Barden Boys’ School, Mr Hannah started work as a wood-cutting machinist at Earnshaws before joining the Special Constabulary and then the police.

Mrs Hannah said he enjoyed reading, music and crosswords, and holidays abroad with his friend and ex-colleague Peter Watson.

She said: “Both myself and Peter’s wife Valerie were still working, so they used to disappear on a cheap holiday to Greece or Spain. They would have a great time.”

The couple, who met at St Andrew’s Church when Mr Hannah sang in the church choir, were married for 46 years.

They have two children, Andrew and Michelle, and two grandchildren, Lucy, eight, and Tom, three.

Mrs Hannah said: “He came out of hospital about six weeks ago.

“They said he only had days to live, but he was able to celebrate his 70th birthday on August 28.

“He really enjoyed that day with members of his family round, his daughter and son-in-law were here and his two sisters.”

She added: “He had a good sense of humour, he always liked a joke, and even the doctors said in his final weeks his sense of humour was still there.”

A funeral was held yesterday at St Andrew’s Church.

Mr Hannah’s friend Mike Griffin, chairman of the Burnley branch of the National Association of Retired Police Officers, spoke at the service.