Ben (Episodes 956/7)

Ben was an elderly, scruffy nightwatchman who was hired to keep an eye on some roadworks in the Street, not so much because of vandalism but because of the danger a large hole presented to residents and traffic.

During a small but boisterous party at No. 3, the wheelchair-bound Ray Langton persuaded Sandra Butler to steal one of the red lamps that were around the hole. She did so and Annie Walker, returning from a visit, fell in. Furious, covered in mud, and getting little sympathy for her plight from the regulars at the Rovers, she started a campaign of complaining to the council about Ben's dereliction of duty. Ben swore that the works were properly lit all the time and Cyril Turpin, investigating the matter, deduced who the real culprits were. Annie dropped her complaints and tried to be friendly to Ben but he snubbed her approaches, preferring to talk with fellow First World War veteran Albert Tatlock.