IN an unfortunate turn of events, the first time Paul Kyberd took a case to court he was both the victim and the arresting officer.

The young bobby was sent to deal with a Mr 'Shouter' Evans who was causing a scene on Beaumont Street, Oxford, one Saturday morning in the late 60s.

As he tried to arrest Shouter for being drunk and disorderly, the 19-year-old was kicked 'between the legs'.

The resulting fracas saw Evans arrested for assaulting a police officer and hauled up in front of Oxford Crown Court.

Today, the 68-year-old remembers the scene well.

A high-profile blackmail trial had been suspended temporarily to hear the case and several notorious Oxford villains sat watching on.

When the details of the crime were relayed to the court, 'everyone started laughing'.

The young officer was asked by the judge 'did it hurt?' to which the response was 'damn right it did'.

So began a career in the force which lasted 30 years and the ex-detective, now a tour guide at Oxford Castle Unlocked, says he could write a book about his court experiences.

He says people are endlessly fascinated with stories of crime and even he will read or watch any crime fiction going – despite having 'seen it all in real life.'

Mr Kyberd joined the force just as it changed from the Oxford City Police to the Thames Valley Constabulary in 1968 and patrolled the streets of Oxford alone, first on foot and then in a patrol car, dealing with the shoplifts, assaults and burglaries of city life.

He describes this time as 'adrenaline-pumping good fun' as he chased burglars through the night, responding to alarms.

"You walk through the town centre in Oxford now and you see so many homeless people sleeping out and a lot of begging.

"It's wrong to say it wouldn't happen in my day because you can't compare it but I do feel we tended to keep the lid on.

"I think now they can't even find the dustbin.

"I really feel for all those having to sleep out on these cold nights."

It was while working in the drugs team that another memorable court tale occurred.

"I could always tell which way the jury were going to go as soon as they came back into the room.

"If they look at the defendant, it's not guilty, but if they look away he's guilty.

"I had a guy in for dealing ecstasy tablets – he was a dealer in death, no question.

"The jury came back and I thought 'there's something strange here'.

"The lady foreman got up and the clerk asked her how they found the defendant.

"She stands up and says 'guilty' and the rest of the jury all look up at her.

"It dawns on me that she's missed out a word and the judge goes: 'Could you read it again please?'

"As the defendant walks out he says 'nice try Mr Kyberd', and I responded 'I'll get you again son, don't worry.'"

The ex-detective, who now lives in Appleton with wife Sharon, says he joined the drugs squad after seeing the harm they cause first hand.

Oxford City was the first force in the country to set up a dedicated drugs team in the 1960s.

Mr Kyberd describes his time in the squad as 'like playing whack-a-mole in the fairground', in that once they caught one dealer, another one would crop up.

But he still feels proud of the work he did to take dealers off the streets: "Every week we would arrest somebody, it was incredible and it did have a short-term impact.

"The fact that the dealer was going to prison was enough."

After a car crash in which a colleague was killed, he stepped back from front-line duties and took on a role as chemist inspector, working with city pharmacists to tackle prescription drug abuse.

He also began to lecture and appear in the media, talking about the dangers of drugs.

He remains a vocal critic of legalisation of drugs saying 'it doesn't work' and warns that people underestimate the effects of high-strength cannabis and ecstasy.

At a house of a dealer in Bicester, he saw cannabis being grown hydroponically with no earth, just running water and nutrients.

"It grows an inch to two inches every day," he said.

"The purity exploded so that some skunk was equivalent to LSD."

At the castle, Mr Kyberd uses all the theatricality and sharp-wittedness of his days in the force to bring the history of the old jail to life.

He started doing tours aged 65 and now works two days a week.

The only slight challenge is the 101 steps he has to walk four times a day.

"I have a costume, I do the business and wonder around.

"There's 1,000 years of history here: the Empress Matilda escaped, there's been people hanged, executed and many other brutal stories.

"It was a different time."

For young people thinking about what to do in life, he still recommends joining the police as a worthwhile profession.

It's probably just wise to look out for those stray kicks between the legs.