Deputy district judge Bryn Smart retires from the judiciary aged 70

Mr Smart is, he admits, being dragged kicking and screaming from the judiciary as he has reached the compulsory retirement age of 70.

He is not happy.

Personally, he is infuriated because it is a job he has found fulfilling and, with due modesty, has been good at.

Professionally, he says the judiciary cannot afford to lose any more deputy district judges especially at a time when there is a shortage.

Equally frustrating to him is the closure of county courts.

Harlow, Brentwood and Grays have already gone and Colchester County Court is due to close in October.

His opposition to the closures is born of his own inherent sense of justice.

Not only, he argues, will the closure of the courts delay justice because of the lack of courts but the distance to travel to one will hit the most disadvantaged the hardest.

“If you are a single parent facing eviction from your council house, if you are already struggling to make ends meet and may even be in arrears for thousands of pounds, you are not going to spend what little money you do have travelling across the county to go to court.

“I had a spat with a senior judge over it.

"He said everyone is within an hour’s car drive to a court.

"I used a naughty word. I asked him ‘What about those people who don’t have cars?’ Those are the people who need the most help.”

He continues: “I have come across people who are illiterate and haven't claimed their rightful benefit because they haven’t been able to fill out the vast forms.

“If they are in court, I can ask them why not and can ask the housing officer in court to help them to sort it out.

“If they don’t come to court, there is not much I can do.”

Mr Smart, who has been president of the Suffolk and North Essex Law Society and is a Freeman of the City of London, describes himself as a socialist with a small s. He is also caring with a large C.

Born in Colchester, he passed his 11-plus exam but had the temerity to choose North East Essex Technical College in North Hill, Colchester, rather than take up his place at Colchester Royal Grammar School.

“I lived in a council house at the time and I thought the grammar school was snobby. I think it probably still is, and elitist,” he adds for good measure.

He originally wanted to be a pharmacist inspired by the pharmacy in St Botolph’s, Colchester, with its bottles and potions.

But that never quite came off and pharmacy's loss was the law's gain.

Instead, he left school at 17 with no A levels after seeing an advert for a trainee legal executive in a Colchester legal firm Page, Ward and Daykin.

“Unfortunately Mr Daykin shot himself before I arrived,” he said, filling in the narrative.

The other partner, John Gill, he remembers wore tweed, was a member of the Territorial Army and full of bluster.

When his request to study for his articles was rejected, Mr Smart joined a law firm in London.

He stayed there for three years but moved when his request for a pay rise because he was getting married was turned down.

“In my ‘Sod off’ way, I left,” he said.

"I went to a wonderful firm, Stephenson, Harwood and Tatham and passed my legal executive examinations which qualified me to take my remaining exams to allow me to become a solicitor.”

Mr Smart speaks fondly of his time with the firm but he was lured back to Colchester by his friend, the infamous solicitor Jimmy Neale.

"Jimmy was charming, personable, intelligent and stupid," he said. (Stupid because he was struck off for misappropriating funds and then jailed for 21 years in Australia in 2002 for smuggling £5 million of Ectasy into the country. Very stupid.) Mr Smart continues: "He was in the kitchen of our house having a cup of tea when I came home from work one night.

"He said you should come and work in Colchester again and I did."

Thanks to a little manoeuvring by friend Brian Catchpole, he then joined the College of Law in London, alongside Carol Thatcher, daughter of the erstwhile Prime Minister Margaret, to study for his law exams.

He sailed through them and later moved to Ellisons solicitors in Colchester where he worked for 30 years becoming a senior partner before retiring from the practice in 2008.

He specialised in commercial law and conveyancing and also became a deputy district judge in 1992.

Before his enforced retirement, he was one of the longest serving deputy district judges.

His area of expertise surrounded commercial and industrial disputes - such as claims by dissatisfied customers against builders or mechanics - and matrimonial matters.

"You have to be pragmatic," he said.

"You listen to the argument but deal in facts and the law."

"I am prone to outbursts," he added "but you have to push me a long way to get it.

"I think I also have a good sense of humour."

He has shied away from cases involving children fearing he would get too emotionally involved.

His family mean the world to him - his wife, Jane, children Patrick, Anna and Holly, and grandchildren Killian, Oliver and Amelie, who, states with a proud and indulgent smile, will win an Oscar or end up in Holloway Prison.

His son, Ben, died in France last year. Tears fill his eyes. He feels his loss terribly.

As he enters retirement, albeit begrudgingly, Mr Smart is looking forward to spending time with his beloved family and enjoying fine wine - he was twice runner-up in the Daily Telegraph Wine Taster of the Year competition and is a Chevalier du Tastevin in France - all labours of love he assures me.

He feels he has more to give and is looking for a charity to take advantage of his experience and knowledge.

First, however, he has to have his hip replaced for the third time. "If only I have taken up tiddlywinks instead of rugby," he muses.

And, once recovered, he hopes to continue riding his Harley Davison Sportster.

"I have an extra low one because I have short legs," he shares.

He has ridden a motorbike since he was 16 and Jane is none to sure about him continuing the hobby post surgery.

"That is a bone of contention still to resolve," he admits.

There can be no better man to resolve it.