“Getting into the tractor unit of a 44-tonne artic was a bit of a moment. But once I was up and running, it felt like I’d never been away.”

– Andy Holgate, Driver Hire agency driver

Category C+E driver, Andy Holgate, has been in the delivery business just about all his life. He started with a newspaper round (remember them?) then upgraded to a milk round. So, it was entirely natural that, after trying his hand at a few other jobs, he moved into road transport.

What makes Andy particularly interesting is that he’s the comeback king. No matter what life throws at him he simply bounces back. He’s done that with road transport too.

As he explains, his life became somewhat challenging in 2018, working for Bradford Council’s waste collection department. “I caught Hepatitis E, which is a rare liver disease, I recovered but, out of the blue, I had a seizure. Of course, I had to divulge it to the DVLA and they took my HGV licence away. It was like being given a five-year prison sentence – the period I’d have to wait before I could reapply.”

But his liver was still causing problems and he was given the bleak news that, without a transplant, he’d got about three months to live. “To make matters worse, I’ve got a rare blood group. But, amazingly, a donor was found and after an 8-hour operation, I was soon back on my feet.”

Returning to work, Bradford Council put him on ‘light duties’, but you can’t keep a good man down. “I was working with the recycling team, going door to door, checking that people were putting the correct waste in the correct bins. I was easily doing my 10,000 steps a day – up and down the hills round Bradford. And leaving most of them behind.”

Now 60, Andy decided it was time to retire. But he soon got bored. His wife said: ‘Why not get a little driving job again?’. With his five-year break now elapsed, he went back into the classroom to regain his Cat C+E licence and complete a Driver CPC refresher course, all of which he completed in just two weeks.

He went on the books at Driver Hire Bradford where he’s currently enjoying himself trunking. “I’ve done several overnighters including a four-nighter down to Penzance and back. Getting into the tractor unit of a 44-tonne artic was a bit of a moment. But once I was up and running, it felt like I’d never been away. Driver Hire love my 30 years plus of driving experience; I love being out there on the road. And of course, with Driver Hire, I can do as much or as little as I want. It’s a great life!”

If you’re considering work with Driver Hire, get in touch with your local office today. Thinking about upgrading your licence to become an HGV driver? Take a look at the Driver Hire Training website.