A POLICEMAN who bought peckish Princess Anne a bacon butty on a visit to the town is set to retire after 30 years.

PC Glenn Wood, aged 49, finishes his final shift this month.

The traffic officer satisfied the Princess Royal's hunger pangs with the sandwich as he drove her from Warburton's bakery after a tour of the company.

He said: "She said she was hungry and we managed to get her some bacon butties.

"She ate them in the back of the car as we headed away from Warburtons to the next venue in Manchester."

The sandwich saviour came to the rescue when he was a member of the crack 'X cars' team -- a specialised anti-car crime unit.

Members of the team completed special courses to drive the royals when they visited the region.

During his time in the unit, he was a driver for Princess Diana. He said: "She was a lovely person."

The experienced officer has been called out to the scene of hundreds of crashes but admits his most unusual accident came in the late 1970s when a circus truck containing three Indian elephants crashed.

He said: "We managed to pull a grille off the trailer and suddenly three trunks poked through so they could breathe."

PC Wood began his career as a beat bobby in Bury before joining the traffic unit in 1976.

In 1999, the father-of-three escaped after a bullet smashed through his windscreen as he chased a gunman who brought terror to Bolton's streets.

Earlier this year, he was one of a number of officers to receive the Chief Constable's Commendation in recognition of his courageous actions.

He said: "At the time, you don't think about the danger because the adrenalin is rushing.

"It was only later when we got back to the office that we realised the danger."

The brave officer has been given a new nickname at the traffic unit's Castle Street offices, where he has been based for the final few months of his service. Renowned for the number of cups of tea he downs during the day, he has earned the title Brew Boy.

A workmate said: "Now he's retiring, it will save us so much from our tea fund we will be able to book a holiday."