Grimsby's oldest paperboy, 84, kisses goodbye to his beloved round
GRIMSBY'S oldest paperboy – and one of the oldest in the country – will retire from his rounds at the ripe old age of 84.
Ted Norval, from Waltham, will deliver his last paper next month after working for the Grimsby Telegraph for 25 years.
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THAT'S SEALED IT: Ted Norval, 84, is retiring from being a paperboy for the Grimsby Telegraph for 25 years. He is pictured with wife Margaret, who helps him on his round.
While paperboys around the country drag themselves out of bed for their early morning round, Ted and his wife Margaret, 70, have been getting up at 2.30am before delivering the daily news to Grimsby, Cleethorpes and surrounding areas come rain or shine.
Ted joined the Telegraph four years after his retirement, but has decided to call it a day and enjoy some well deserved rest.
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He said: "We love delivering papers to people.
"They are much more than customers, they are our friends.
"They wait for us at their gates so they can take their paper to work.
"We have suffered a few aches and pains over the years and there have been some sad moments too, but generally we have incredibly happy memories of delivering people their papers."
For 18 years, Ted owned his own taxi firm, and his last job was a cleaner at Cleethorpes Winter Gardens – but after retiring, spritely Ted wanted to return to work and took on a three-month temporary contract.
This saw Ted, accompanied by Margaret, delivering 300 newspapers a day six days a week for the next quarter of a century.
He and Margaret, of Manor Drive, believe a round is a "rite of passage" for all young people looking for their first job and praised the past and present paperboys who have come under their watch.
Margaret said: "Everyone should have a paper round at some point in their lives, it teaches responsibility.
"Our paperboys, past and present, have been the best, I should imagine a lot of them will have their own kiddies by now."
There is no official record of the oldest paper boy but in 2010, national news reported that Dorset man Ted Ingham, 90, was believed to be the oldest and longest serving, after delivering papers since 1942.
But for our Telegraph Ted, the title is not important, for him it is just about doing a good job.
He added: "We have seen a lot of changes over the years but we love our papers and our customers.
"Retiring will take some getting used to, we loved seeing everyone every day.
"They told us they don't want us to leave, one even called us spring chickens!
"But it is time for us to rest now."
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