Mr Timothy Inglis, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at Burnley General Hospital, has spent 25 years overseeing pregnancies and births at the hospital.

A father-of-two and grandfather-of-four, Mr Inglis (60) was born in Birmingham, although his mother hailed from Nelson. He completed his medical training in the city 36 years ago and moved to Burnley in 1983 to take up the consultant's post.

Mr Inglis said he would miss his colleagues, but not certain aspects of the NHS. "I will still see many of my colleagues and consultants as I plan to stay in touch with a lot of people, and the consultants meet up every so often to keep up with the issues.

"I won't miss the hassle of all the new Government changes and the ridiculous targets which are slowly destroying the National Health Service. I am very much looking forward to seeing the new women's centre built which will be one of the biggest in the North-West and which will provide a wonderful service for Burnley."

Mr Inglis lives in Read with his wife, Jane, and the pair now run his private practice in Whalley and he plans to spend more time with his family. He is also looking forward to spending more time on his hobbies, including photography, carving walking sticks and painting.

He was presented with a new camera and lens at his leaving ceremony in the Mackenzie Centre at Burnley General, which was attended by friends and colleagues.