ONE of the most famous faces in Saltcoats town has collected his last trolley after retiring after more than 40 years of service.

Colleagues both old and new from Sainsbury’s Saltcoats, joined by family, gathered for a farewell lunch to celebrate the 41 years service that Jimmy McLaughlin had served in the team under various retailers.

Jimmy joined on September 2, 1974 when the site was run by Templeton’s then went through the various hands of Presto, Safeway, Morrisons and Somerfield. Sainsbury’s have ran this site for the last eight years. Jimmy sadly retired as his health deteriorated this year.

Jimmy is a local celebrity within the town being such a familiar face and character for such a long period of time.

Store manager Eric Shiels said: “It’s very sad to see someone who has worked for so long move on, it was great for the team to get together with family members and share so many memories that have made up the majority of Jimmy’s life, he will be sorely missed by the team and our customers.”