Jo Evans (61), from Stanground, has been taking bundles of the newspaper from our printworks in Oundle Road, Woodston, to shops across the area for 20 years.

But on Tuesday, she is taking her feet off the pedals of her van and is finally putting them up to enjoy a well-earned retirement.

The grandmother of five said she would miss the contact with colleagues and customers the most.

She said: "I have really enjoyed it. I have met some nice people and work with a great crowd.

"I will also miss a lot of my customers, and I think they will miss me.

"When you are late, they don't get angry about it, they say 'Are you all right?' They are concerned about you."

Jo, a mother of three, started at The ET at the suggestion of her brother-in-law as she needed part-time work that fitted in around school hours.

After beginning as a relief driver in August 1988, she landed a permanent position the following year.

She said: "You could be going to Wisbech one day, Huntingdon the next, and a city run in Peterborough the next.

"I liked the fact that once you had got the papers and had loaded up, you were out on the road and were your own boss, doing the job whether it was sunny or raining."

For 17 years, Jo's regular 99-mile run has taken in shops in Fletton High Street, Glinton, Newborough, Northborough and out into Lincolnshire to Crowland, Weston, Moulton, Whaplode, Holbeach, Long Sutton, and Sutton, among other villages.

She has kept the pedal to the metal despite a collision with a truck about 10 years ago, which left her van seriously damaged.

Jo said: "When I started, it was all female drivers, but now we have males and females. I heard that men weren't reliable enough and didn't turn up to deliver The ET, but I don't really know if that was true.

"The ones we have now do a good job."

Jo, who is married to Dave (57), said she planned to spend more time with her four grand-daughters, aged seven, four, three, and two and her two-year-old grandson in her retirement.