But Mr Bayes has ensured his company, Pinders Versatool, of Padholme Road East, will still have a bright future after his departure by completing the sale of the firm on the day of his retirement.

He said: "I am a little bit sad to be retiring, after all, the company has been a part of my life for so many years."

Mr Bayes (65), joined sheet metal company Pinders as an apprentice 50 years ago and then worked his way up the career ladder to become managing director.

He said: "There have been many highs and lows along the way.

"I became an executive director in 1972 and took over the running of the company in 1992. However, when our owners decided to sell the firm in 2002, I saw there was an opportunity for a management buyout.

"After that we didn't look back.

"Over the years we moved from rented premises into our own freehold factory and made a profit."

When he finally sold the business to Peterborough businessman Andrew Crawley, the number of employees had risen from 11 to 17 and the company was turning over £1.2 million a year.

He said: "It was a team effort and the staff are highly skilled, and we stuck in there and turned the company around. Run properly, as I'm sure it will be, the business has a secure future.

He added: "Although the last six years have been good ones, I think the best times were during the '60s. We used to work hard and work long hours but there was more fun on the shop floor, whereas today everyone is under pressure to get things done.

"The worst times were the recessions in 1973 and the '90s when we made redundancies."

Now Mr Bayes says he is looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Margaret, and the family as well as more time on the golf course.