Proud legacy of Blackpool top cop once called 'the chief constable's nightmare'

The rags-to-riches true story of a Marton butcher’s boy who rose through the police ranks to crack some of the toughest cases in the county has been put to print - more than a year after the death of its author.

‘A Chief Constable’s Nightmare?’ follows the life of Jeff Meadows, who worked as a butcher’s boy on Harrowside before joining the Blackpool force in 1957, and eventually being promoted to Chief Superintendent in 1984.

From his first brush with fame in The Gazette after saving a budgie trapped in a house fire on St Annes Road to the arrests of 101 football ‘hooligans’ caught rampaging through the town centre after a match, the highs and lows of his colourful career are set out in full against the backdrop of Blackpool, its landmarks and salty sea front.

Long-serving bobby Jeff died age 80 in November 2018 after a battle with prostate and bladder cancer - just one day after his memoirs were stamped and sent away.

His son Darren, 57, said: “When he was in hospital his main concern was getting the book out. I remember telling him I had sent it. He smiled. And eight hours later, he was dead.”

Throughout his life, Mr Meadows found himself at the forefront of some of the most notorious cases in Lancashire’s history.

In 1979 he oversaw the case of the ‘handless corpse’, when the mutilated body of New Zealander Martin Johnstone was found in a water-filled quarry in Eccleston, near Chorley. The 27-year-old was a drug dealer, and his gruesome murder at the hands of Andrew Maher, on the orders of crime mogul Terry Sinclair, led to the discovery of a huge drug smuggling ring spanning from Australia to Asia.

He also investigated the brutal slaying of Preston judge William Openshaw, who was stabbed to death in his own home by Worsthorne man John Smith, whom he had sent to borstal for burglary years before.

His autobiography completes his legacy, as all royalties from sales are to be donated to Prostate Cancer UK and the Gerry Richardson Trust, a youth charity named in memory of Supt Gerald Richardson, who was shot dead during an armed robbery in Blackpool in 1971.

Darren said: “He was always one for stories. When I was a youngster he’d always tell amazing stories of things that happened with the cops. Eventually people said ‘if you won’t write them for yourself, write them for your family’

"My dad never intended to make any money off his book. He said if he could raise some money for charity, it would be great.

“Unfortunately, due to his condition he was never going to live to see it published.

“When it was finally published in November 2019, we got 100 paperbacks and we ended up selling them to all the retired cops in Blackpool NARPO (National Association of Retired Police Officers) branch, and regaled them with stories about my dad. He would have loved that - he was always a people person, and he loved to chat.

“I feel very proud. As the final paragraph of his book says, he didn’t do bad for a butcher’s boy.”

In later life, Mr Meadows, who lived on Blossom Avenue in Marton, became a member of the Blackpool South Rotary Club, where he took a leading role. He was also the chairman of the Gerald Richardson Memorial Trust.

Following his death at Trinity Hospice in November 2018, his funeral took place at Lytham Crematorium. Family, friends, and fellow police officers gathered in crowds to pay their respects.