A dedicated milkman in St Albans said he has "seen it all" in 40 years of delivering pints.

Steven Allen has been delivering milk and groceries for the past 41 years - since his first shift for Express Dairies at 17 years of age on February 11, 1974. 

During that time, he rescued a seven-month-old baby from a house fire during a round. 

Steven said: "I have been doing the St Albans round for 26 years now and absolutely love it. 

"I have seen children grow up, and have their own children and it’s great to be part of the community.

"You get to know people. I have seen it all."

Steven has such a strong rapport with his customers that when he ran a marathon to raise money for Scope because his son has cerebral palsy, his customers sponsored him and when he got married two years ago, he received more than £1,000 as wedding gifts. 

Some of his customers have even knitted him scarves so he can stay warm.

Leaving home at 4am and driving to the depot in Welwyn Garden City, Steven loads his float and delivers his first pint of milk no later than 5am for Dairy Crest milk&more.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday he delivers to more than 400 homes in St Albans, including houses on King Harry Lane, St Stephens Avenue, the Verulam Estate and Batchwood.

On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday Steven delivers to 100 homes in Watford town centre and Bushey.

He finishes his round between 10.30am to noon when he then heads home, has lunch and relaxes a little before picking up his wife from work at 5pm.  

After dinner and watching a bit of TV, he heads off to bed at 10pm to start his day all over again, six days a week. 

The father of three added: "When I got married people’s generosity was overwhelming. 

"I had so many congratulations card it was amazing. 

"It is the same at Christmas, I get hundreds of cards. 

"It is great to be part of this brilliant community."

In more than two decades driving the milk cart, Stephen has helped customers change light bulbs, put their bins out, posted letters and even done their shopping.

The 58-year-old, who lives Hendon, also takes time to talk to his customers each week as he goes on his round and has even come to the rescue when they have had a fall.

Chris May, Steve’s depot manager, said: "Steve is a very positive milkman who is passionate about the business.  

"He is always cheerful and simply gets it.  

"Customer focus and customer service is one and the same to Steve.  

"He is dedicated to serving his customers and being more than the person who delivers their milk and groceries.  

"He is extremely good at what he does and is highly respected by his colleagues and customers alike."

While the demand for a milkman's services have waned in recent decades, Steven says that the white stuff in the traditional bottles with foil lids have kept a core customer base.

He said: "Delivering milk is a very important service. Milkmen save lives. 

"We check on people and if something isn’t right we highlight it.

"When I first started milk was 5p and we only did five kinds. Now we do everything from organic to soya milk, with a pint costing 79p.

"I hope to do for another ten to 12 years."