IT was an emotional day at Stratton Fire Station on Saturday as a retiring firefighter worked one of his final shifts alongside his son.

At the end of this month, Sean Gosling, 55, will be hanging up his hose for the final time after almost 35 years of service.

To mark the occasion he was in the same crew as his son John, who works as an on-call firefighter but is looking to join the service full-time.

And while it may have been a special occasion, they were not sitting around the station all day as the high winds meant they were called out to deal with loose roofing.

Sean said: “It was nice to actually go out on a job with John, as it’s the one and only time we’ll be in the appliance together.

“He’s been an on-call firefighter now for four years so it will be nice if as I leave he starts full-time.

“It’s definitely going to be sad to leave as it is a great job.

“You see a lot of bad things which stick in your memory but I have met some fantastic people and made some great friends. It is like a family and everyone supports each other. The saying is if one of us gets kicked, we all limp.”

Sean worked in the police force before joining the fire service. He spent the first 20 years based at Drove Road before moving to Stratton.

Also this month, Sean’s colleague John Tregoning is also retiring after a similar length of service.

“The job has changed quite a bit in the time I’ve been working there,” said Sean.

“We now no longer go to as many fires.

“Fire safety has improved loads so you don’t get anywhere near as many building fires as before and people don’t use chip pans like they used to.

“What we now see are far more car crashes and here we have a specialist water unit to deal with floods.

“So while things may have changed, we still have an important job.

“The people of Swindon have been really supportive as well. They know the importance of what we do.”

His son John, 24, says he is eager to follow his father’s footsteps and become a full-time firefighter.

“I am really proud of my dad and he has been an excellent role model during my lifetime” he said.

“He has inspired me to come into this profession and I will be sad when he leaves.”