A FORMER Oxfordshire police officer has died at the age of 85.

Tony Jones was assigned to Didcot when he first moved to the county in 1966 after joining Berkshire Constabulary as a Chief Inspector from the Gloucestershire force.

His time there coincided with the new police station in Mereland Road being built in the late 1960s.

In 1968 five forces were merged to create Thames Valley Police and about three years later Mr Jones was promoted to the rank of Superintendent and moved to Milton Keynes. The town was undergoing its expansion at the time.

But in the mid-1970s, after his father Herbert died, he moved to Witney so he could be closer to his mother.

He remained in Witney until he retired from the police in 1978 and became a private security consultant for Sunlight Service Group.

After three years he was promoted and became director of the company, where he remained until 1993 when he retired for a second time.

He was born on October 28, 1928 in Gloucester.

He won a scholarship to the Crypt Grammar School and was then accepted to go to Durham University.

But before going to Durham he was called up for national service in the Royal Gloucester Regiment and spent 18 months in Jamaica.

When he returned in 1949 he decided not to go to university and joined Gloucestershire Constabulary instead.

This was the same year that he married Kathy Williams, who he had first met at sunday school when they were 13 years old.

He was a keen sports fan and played cricket and rugby for the police.

In his retirement he was involved in Witney Rotary Club and helped to organise debating competitions for local schools.

Mr Jones died in Sobell House Hospice on Saturday, June 8.

He is survived by his wife, his three children Robert, Paul and Suzanne, and two grandchildren.

His funeral took place at St James the Great church in South Leigh yesterday.