A 90-year-old architect had his wish granted to return to the fire station which he helped to design.

John Breavington played a part in building various public service buildings across Essex, including South Woodham Ferrers fire station, Holy Trinity Church and several schools in the town.

After expressing the desire to staff at Admiral Court Care Home, in Leigh, where he now lives, John - who worked for Southend Council and Southend County Hall - visited the station this week for the first time in 38 years.

Joined by care home staff and friends, John signed the VIP signing-in book and was treated to a tour of the fire station which was opened on May 21, 1981 by the Queen when she came to open the town centre.

She had lunch at the fire station and, prior to her visit, John had to modify the toilets to allow for a ladies’ loo as, at the time, only men were firefighters.

Following John’s visit, he was escorted by members of the fire station team to Holy Trinity Church, which he opened a few years later, to have a look around.

The sprightly 90-year-old said: “I am very grateful to the fire station for their time and I felt honoured to be able to sign the VIP signing in book.

“I am proud of what I had designed and built and I was so delighted that I could go back and see how my work had benefitted the community.”

Al Green, station manager, said: “It was a pleasure to meet John, the person who had done a superb job of designing and creating the station.

“It’s amazing that a station that was built in 1981 is still used for training for most of the Essex fire stations and this is as a result of John’s foresight and planning.”

Sarah Savidge, lifestyle leader at Admiral Court Care Home, said: “It has been a pleasure making a wish come true for John. When you walk around South Woodham Ferrers and see the contribution that John has made to this community, you can really see how much one person can make a difference to an entire town.”