AN ERA ended in Peebles last Friday.

Lorna Evans, the ‘weel kent’ face of the police office, hung up her front desk phone for the last time, after 43 years, on her 66th birthday.

When Lorna joined the force aged 22 in 1981, the town station was in Port Brae and there were also village hubs in Innerleithen, Broughton and West Linton.

At a retirement celebration to mark the public enquiry and support assistant’s last day, she was presented a “beautiful” long service pin including the number 43.

Lorna said: “I have certainly seen a lot of changes.

“Before Police Scotland was formed Lothian and Borders Police closed the outlying stations and brought the officers into Peebles.

“There are still five teams of officers in Peebles including a firearms licensing, schools and two community officers.”

Lorna, who attended Halyrude and Kingsland primary schools and Peebles High School, completed secretarial studies before following her family heritage and working at Robert Noble’s March Street Mills.

There she moved from the pattern room to the telex office before applying to join the police as a clerical assistant.

As the Peeblesshire News reported in 2021, after Lorna had served 40 years, back in 1981 Lorna’s mum, Bunty Brown, said: “I dinnae ken why you want to go and work there, you’ll no like it!”

Lorna experienced many memorable occasions during her service which also included three years as a special constable.

She said: “Most memorable were episodes in the snow, being blocked off in 1986/87, when there was only me and another officer who could get to work because everyone else stayed outwith the town.

“We were totally cut off and the council had to cut through the snow on the A703 to get it open.”

Lorna also had a chance for a good ‘chin wag’ with Princess Anne who came on an unofficial visit to the new station in 2007.

“I met Princess Anne and it was funny because we were discussing what we would say to her and I said my dad’s met her before, he was the drum major in the pipe band,” said Lorna.

“I had a photo of him at an event in Berwick for the Gurkhas and she is standing looking at him.

“I showed her the photograph, that was the introduction and she remembered exactly where and when it was, including the date, she knew everything about it.”

Lorna, who has a daughter Rachel, son Gareth and a three-month-old grandson Xander, will not slow down in retirement as she is heavily involved in organisation for the Beltane.