It is the end of an era in the Wychwoods area of west Oxfordshire, where there has been a Dr Scott looking after local residents for more than 70 years.

Sandy Scott retired from the surgery in Milton-under-Wychwood on Friday after 35 years, a job his father held before him for 36 years.

Dr Scott, 62, who also holds the unusual accolade of being the oldest man to ever take part in the British Bobsleigh Championships, lives in the house in Church Path, Shipton-under-Wychwood, where he was born and where his father lived.

During his career, he raised funds for a transport scheme to help people reach the Wychwood Surgery and for the Surgery Care Fund, and fought hard to try to save Burford Hospital and the Langston House care home, in Milton-under-Wychwood, both of which were eventually closed.

He took part in a number of ascents of Mount Everest as an expedition doctor, including the 40th anniversary attempt with Rebecca Stephens, the first British woman to reach the summit.

He and fellow villagers set up the Everest Memorial Trust in 1998 to undertake environmental, health and education projects in the high mountain communities of the Himalayas to commemorate the climbers who have died on the mountain.

The trust helped to rebuild and double the size of the Pheriche Hospital in Nepal, near Everest, the highest hospital in the world. It is 14,600ft above sea level and 12 days' walk from the nearest road.

He said: "It feels wonderful at the moment. I'll still be back to do locum work. I'm leaving the NHS but I'll still be around for the patients. I've got the Pheriche project to work on and a few other things I'd like to pursue."