Is this the UK's oldest PCSO? Meet the 71-year-old patrolling Yorkshire seaside town on her scooter

But not for Yorkshire Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) Liz Smith, who at the age of 71 is in the prime of her career making sure the streets of Bridlington are a safer place.

PCSO Smith, who serves with Humberside Police, is not only the force's oldest serving officer, but is thought to be the oldest PCSO in the UK and she enjoys nothing more than getting out there on her scooter to meet members of the local community.

Having joined the force in October 2006 she has no plans to retire just yet and still works full-time doing 56 hours a week including shifts.

She said: "I have never had a dull moment since I started this job. It's what you make of it. If you love your job then you give your best. I have never had the years go by as quick, these have just flown. if you enjoy something time just goes.

"I started riding back in the 1960s. When I came in and took over the rural side here, the scooter came with it. I can't use it much during the winter months but on a nice day it is a great way of getting around. I just love it - it is all about variety.

"Retirement frightens me. Lots of people tell me I can't work forever, but it's not like a job, it's something I love and I get up and want to do it. It's different, it's not boring. I just wish I was younger and could offer another 15 or 20 years. I get asked a lot if I am retiring any time soon, but I just get out of bed in the morning, put my uniform on and have a laugh with everyone. I then go out into the community and get stuck in. It has been and still is the best job for me. It's all about making a difference."

PCSO Smith explains how she had always wanted to work as a police officer, but life took a different turn when she met her now husband who didn't want her to work long shifts and work on the streets at night.

She became a company trainer, before joining West Yorkshire Police as a Special Constable at the age of 45. Her son also joined the force at the same time and is now a serving police officer with North Yorkshire Police.

PCSO Smith, who is also a grandmother-of-three, handed back her uniform to the West Yorkshire force at the age of 55 and moved over to East Yorkshire with her husband. She started working for the Prison Service as a civilian helping prisoners into education and employment, but still felt there was something missing from her life.

"When I got to 57/58 I wasn't ready to retire and wanted a little job or something and my daughter-in-law, who was a PCSO at the time told me I should apply to become one," she said.

"I thought I was far too old, but she said I wasn't."

PCSO Smith came across an article in The Yorkshire Post's sister paper The Bridlington Free Press with Humberside Police recruiting for new PCSOs and decided to apply.

"When I applied I thought it would be lovely to have a job like that for the next two years and retire at 60," she said.

"After the interview I remember walking away and thinking I hadn't done very well, but I did and took it up and it has just gone from strength to strength since.

"I don't know where the 13 years have gone, it's allowed me to fulfil what I have always wanted to do which is to work with the police and the local community and I still enjoy it.

Among her highlights of working with Humberside Police are receiving an MBE from Her Majesty the Queen for her work in the community in 2010 and finishing third in the PCSO of the Year competition in 2008.

PCSO Smith said: "I felt like I got to the top of the mountain when I received the MBE.

"I had nothing else to prove to myself. I have never forgotten it and I think about it every time I see the Queen on TV."

At the moment PCSO Smith is working with the older members of the community to make them aware of potential scams circulating in the area.

"Because of my age I can relate better to older people and help and advise them," she said.

Another personal highlight includes helping a war veteran who she invited to a special World War Two event she planned at The Spa in Bridlington.

"When I invited the man, who was in his 90s, to come to the event, he told me he had just been sat there waiting to die and that I had given him something to live for and look forward to," she recalls.

"About a week before the event I went to see him and he told me there was just one thing he wanted to do before he died and that was hold me in his arms and dance, but said he couldn't because of his legs. When the day itself came we put the spotlights on him and he started to cry when we all cheered him. We put some music on and managed to get him to his feet and held on to him. He died not long after that, but I have never forgot him and no one can take that away from me."

PCSO Smith is adamant she has no plans to retire any time soon.

She said: "I think I am the oldest PCSO for Humberside and I might be the oldest in the country, but I am not retiring anytime soon. I have got to be out and about doing something, it gets my brain going. I may look older on the outside but on the inside I am still young."