THEY have been loyally delivering the Dereham Times for 31 years without ever taking a holiday.But now the husband and wife team, who get up at 4am without fail every day, are hanging up their satchels for good.

THEY have been loyally delivering the Dereham Times for 31 years without ever taking a holiday.

But now the husband and wife team, who get up at 4am without fail every day, are hanging up their satchels for good.

Terry and Maureen Sapey are retiring from running their newspaper delivery business in Honingham to enjoy a life of leisure and lie-ins.

Mrs Sapey, 59, first started doing the round in Honingham because it meant she could take her young child with her, and as time passed the business grew until they covered East Tuddenham, Hockering, North Tuddenham and Weston Green.

Mr Sapey, 64, said: “It's the perfect job. I get to work with my wife. Other than the actual deliveries we spend all our time together.

“The early mornings never bother us. We get to see some fantastic sunrises. Being the first person out in the morning when it snows and leaving the first footprints is very romantic.

“Not taking a holiday has never bothered me. People tell me I look younger than I am and I say it's because I haven't had the stress of having to take holidays.

“The hard part is saying goodbye to people. We spend a lot of time with them and care about them. Our customers are our friends.

“Children have been crying and elderly people who we've known since we started are asking us to keep going. I have to admit to shedding a tear in the car myself. It's very mixed emotions, it's been very hard.”

And while the pair officially retired on Saturday they still did the rounds for a few more days alongside the new owners, to help them into the route and routine.

Mrs Sapey said: “It's good that we're able to wind down gently. So it's not a complete shock to the system. We have lots to do - gardening, redecorating. When you do the papers there's not much time for anything else.

“We've even got a family holiday planned.”