He is one of the longest serving judges in Scotland and was appointed as a Bailie at the tender age of 24.

It was his election to the town council at 23, which led to William Whyte stumbling into the law and taking up a post at the then Borough Court.

Now, after a fulfilling 45 years on the bench in Alloa, he has retired from his role as a Justice of the Peace, a position he had a continued passion for.

“I kept going because I enjoyed it so much, I never tired of it,” he explained.

“I enjoyed dealing with the changes as they came along. I enjoyed the training which was essential to deal with the changes.

“I got a tremendous self-satisfaction out of trying to attain justice to the highest standard for all court users.” William (70) was born and bred in Clackmannanshire, and forged a career at D.C.L in Menstrie after leaving school.

He said, “I went to the south school which was a primary school and the catchment area for that was the bottom end of Alloa and it was the poorest area of the town, and probably one of the poorest areas of Scotland.

“Coming from the bottom of the heap, I have an understanding of people who have come from a deprived background and very often that’s people who I have had to deal with in the court. I’m certainly not from a sheltered background.

“I left school at 17 and I went to work in a laboratory at Menstrie. I went to Paisley Technical College from Alloa on a day release and I attained an HNC in chemistry and physics and I did advanced maths at the night school.” He remained in the same job all his working life, 34 years, and was involved in whisky analysis.

He gave up the council in 1975 – which had seen him as the housing convenor, works convenor, a member of the education committee and convenor of streets and buildings – and it was during that time government minister Harry Ewing was setting up the district courts.

With a shortage of people to man the courts, he appointed bailies from the town councils and William became a Justice of the Peace (JP).

For over 20 years he chaired the JP committee, where one of the main duties was to organise training, and was a member of the advisory committee that appointed JPs.

He saw many changes – including unification, where the Justice of the Peace courts become integrated within the Sheriff Court – and relished the challenges that came with them.

“I have enjoyed knowing all the court players and making friends with colleagues and court officials. I have enjoyed engaging with other judges, court staff and all court users, including the punters,” he said.

“At all times I have considered it important to adhere to the judicial oath which states that you should ‘do right to all manner of people, without fear or favour, affection or ill will’.

“One of the main purposes of the law is to protect the public.

“I know how important it is to consider the victims of crime but nevertheless, it’s not all about punishment and I have managed to deal with offenders in such a way as to have contributed to getting them back on the rails again.

“My one regret is that I have to retire prematurely because I have reached the age of 70.

“A form of age discrimination I suppose. Would I do it all again? I certainly would.”