A policeman who is retiring after 31 years of service has paid a final visit to the station where he met the woman who would later become his wife.

Chief Insp. Nigel Nottidge, who joined the Met in 1981, was invited last week to pay a visit the old police station in what is now the office of Providence Row Housing Association in Bethnal Green Road, where he started out his career.

Nigel, who retires as a Chief Insp., was accompanied on the tour by his wife Christine, who he met when they worked together in 1983.

“In my mind I am transported back to when I joined the Metropolitan Police”, he said.

“It was here I met my wife-to-be. Happy days.

“From a professional perspective, some of the crime types are still the same, but policing has changed considerably.”

When Nigel met Christine, they had to declare their courtship in writing to comply with the regulations of the time.

She still works at Bethnal Green police station, and the pair have two children together.