Wilf Jones has hung up his bat, after becoming the only player to have competed in all 60 seasons in the Birmingham Table Tennis League, since the 2nd world war.

 The 80 year old from Solihull Lodge, who was a tool maker for Rover for 41 years, has retired twice before, but says this time he means it.
 "I packed up playing when I was 65 and 69, but my former club asked me to help them out when they were short of a player,  both times I started playing again and carried on," said Wilf.
 His Land Rover team-mates Alan Winspur, 75 , and Peter Hitchon, 76, are carrying on playing in the league and are looking for a 'youngster' around the  age of 65 to replace Wilf.
 "Playing table tennis is a wonderful way to keep fit, so I will be having the occasional practice with friends, but my knees are playing me up at the moment, so it is time to give up league play," he added.
 Seeing Wilf practice against Division One player Brian Morris at the Colebridge club in Shirley was a real eye opener, yes his mobility was restricted somewhat by his knee problem, but the placement and consistency that have served him so well since 1946 are still very much in evidence.
 "The game has changed completely since I started," insisted Wilf. "There are so many different bats these days it is no wonder players keep changing their equipment to try and find the magic formula.
 "We all had the same bats in the old days and I used to marvel at the skills of Ann Haydon (Jones) and Pam Mortimer as well as a host of top class men in Birmingham.
 "Although Ann won Wimbledon, I have always thought she was a better table tennis player, after all she was ranked two in the world at one time.
 "I beat Desmond Douglas once, mind you he was only 14 at the time, but you could tell he was going to be a great player with those lightning reactions."
 Wilf has played in all kinds of conditions and venues during his league career. "We played in a waiting room at New Street Station which was strange and in a room in the roof at Yardley Old Church where the beams were just above your head.
"These days a handful of clubs provide the bulk of the teams, but there does appear to be a new wave of interest in the sport."
 Wilf's wife Beryl introduced him to bowls in the 1970's, he soon became hooked and still represents Land Rover in the Birmingham Parks League, after  many years in the Warwick & Worcester competition.
 When living in Small Heath in the 1950s Wilf and Beryl looked after Blues player Bud Houghton and he has fond memories of this time.
 "Blues manager Arthur Turner came round to inspect the house before Bud came to live with us, he was a great lad and I can remember coming home from work one day to find all the local kids outside our gate, as Bud was inside with virtually all the squad."
 A bluenose all his life, Wilf followed the club all the way to the FA Cup final in 1956.
 "I wish the team today had players like Trevor Smith and Eddie Brown and my favourite was Ambrose Mulraney, whose tricks were a sight to see."
 Wilf has tried to get his four grandsons to take up table tennis with little success and to make matters worse for him they are all Villa fans