IT IS one of the most hated jobs in the country, but Roger Brown hopes he has not been too unpopular as a traffic warden in Witney.

The 65-year-old hung up his ticket machine last week after 22 years on patrol in the town – first for the police and latterly for West Oxfordshire District Council after it took over responsibility for parking management in February.

He has no regrets, but admits he has been on the end of motorists’ anger many times.

Recently Mr Brown had a man go “ballistic” at him in the town’s Market Square, while the worst threat to him was in November 2007 when he was checking vehicles outside a car auction in Curbridge Road.

He recalled: “I can’t remember if I ticketed the vehicle, but a bloke came up to me and said ‘if you’re here next week we will come at you with baseball bats.’”

The threat was not acted upon.

Mr Brown has no idea how many tickets he had given out during his 22 years, but he said: “Hopefully I’m more popular than unpopular.

“You will never please everyone, but I think 99 per cent of people do like me.”

The top five hotspots for illegal parking in Witney, according to Mr Brown were, in order, Corn Street, High Street, Church Green, Bridge Street and Welch Way.

Mr Brown was brought up in Witney and now lives in the Smiths Estate part of the town with his wife, Debra, 50. He has three step-children, Kelly, 25, Carl, 24 and Kimbley, 23.

Before becoming a traffic warden he worked at Smiths Industries, but lost his job in 1988 after the company closed.

Mr Brown said he took up the job because it allowed him to work outside.

He added: “I started this job in August and the weather was quite nice, and I thought ‘this is great’.

“But it’s gone downhill ever since.

“This has been one of the worst years I have ever had weather-wise.

“I’m not as resilient as I used to be.

“I’m 65 and the joints are just starting to wear out I think.”

Earlier this year he was named the town’s 2009 public servant of the year award after being nominated by the public in the annualWitney mayor’s Citizen of the Year awards.

Deborah Warner, 36, who lives in Thorney Leys, said: “He was very polite and he listened to people if you had an issue. He really cared about local people.

“He was definitely one of the town’s characters. He was everywhere and I think he will be missed.”

Mr Brown now hopes to have a quiet retirement, saying: “I’m going to have a nice big mug of tea, read the newspaper and watch Jeremy Kyle.”

But before he packed up his uniform and handed it back he said he would take one last walk in Witney.

He added: “I really want to walk along Corn Street and into the sunset. Like a John Wayne film.”