A pioneer traffic police officer from the first days of radar speed traps on the roads has died.

Former Sergeant Thomas “Mike” Kelly, who died last month, aged 87, earned the nickname “Yorkie” along with two members of his team, all of whom originally came from Yorkshire, England.

Mr Kelly’s colleagues, Dave Garland and Michael Rickards, said the island’s roads could use a return to the get-tough policing of yesteryear.

Roger Sherratt, a former chief inspector who runs the Bermuda Ex-Police Association, said Mr Kelly earned notoriety for an early incident as a police officer.

Mr Sherratt said: “I saw him one day on Pitts Bay Road dressed as a painter, with an easel, like he was painting. He was actually operating the radar.”

Mr Garland added: “A woman saw him and it ended up in The Royal Gazette. There was a headline: ‘Radar operator poses as painter’.”

Mr Kelly hailed from Redcar, a coastal town in North Yorkshire.

He served in the British Army’s prestigious Coldstream Guards from 1952 to 1954 and joined the Bermuda Police Service in 1956.

Mr Garland, from Beverley and Mr Richards, from Goole, also in Yorkshire, were the constables charged in the “chase car” sent to pull over road users caught by Mr Kelly’s equipment.

He said the speed radar was much bulkier and heavier than modern versions and had a “massive” battery.

Mr Garland added: “Everybody going over 50kph had to be booked. I wish we did it now.

“Radar did a great job — it stopped a lot of people speeding. Road traffic accidents were reduced — they went down by about 30 per cent when it came in.

“The idea was that if you book people speeding, you’re saving lives.”

He added: “Mike was a great guy. Cool and calm, easy to work with. He had a funny sense of humour, and you never heard Mike raise his voice.”

Mr Garland said the sergeant’s easygoing manner helped calm road users unhappy about getting ticketed.

The radar team went out at all hours, although rush hour proved difficult because a speeder had to be tracked for several seconds to get an accurate reading.

Mr Garland said complaints had put pressure on the police to cut down on a concentration on speeders.

Mr Rickards added: “Mike knew the story. He knew we were the ones who took the flak.

“But our attitude with the public was pretty good.”

Mr Rickards added: “Mike was very easy to get on with. The radar was difficult. It was a big operation setting things up.

“But it was enjoyable. We would do three or four hours and that was it for the day.

“We used to get 60, 70 speeders a week. Everybody had to appear in traffic court.”

Mr Rickards said the worst speeder they caught was a man on a Triumph motorcycle caught doing 60mph on South Road in Smith’s, near McGall’s Hill.

He added: “We didn’t get the high, high speeders in those days, but I don’t think the habits ever changed.

“These days it’s absolutely horrendous. It’s scary, the speed of the motorcycles.

“There doesn’t seem to be any deterrent now. I don’t know what the answer is. People speed regardless of the fatalities and accidents.”

Mr Rickards said he had recently been struck by a car while cycling on North Shore Road in Hamilton Parish by the Bermuda Railways Museum, and knocked unconscious.

He added: “It does leave you apprehensive. People overtake me like I’m standing still.”

Mr Sherratt said Mr Kelly, who worked in various departments, prided himself on “exceptionally smart” dress and often led formal police parades.

Mr Kelly, who built his own house in Southampton, retired from the force in 1981 and went into construction work.

Mr Kelly was predeceased by two wives — Mary, and Beryl who he married in 1985.

He is survived by his sister, Kathleen, his brother, John, and stepsons Michael, Martin and Marc Siese.

Thomas Patrick “Mike” Kelly, a police sergeant, was born on August 17, 1933.He died on September 28, 2020, aged 87