Constable by the Stream

In the splendid countryside of North Yorkshire, there’s barely time to stop for Constable Nick Rhea…

Not when missing sheep need locating, stray dogs need homing and thieves need identifying!

As Britain’s most popular copper continues his work around the village, he has to cope with an array of eccentric characters: a postman who can't read, a helpful lady who steals from the elderly people in her care, and a delightful small-time villain called Tin Lid Talbot.

Winning an aged tin of sardines in a local raffle and upsetting the villagers by getting first prize at the local whist drive, PC Nick Rhea must contend with the variety and humorous exploits of a Yorkshire village.

Constable By the Stream is the lively tale of a young PC and the small rural community he calls home.

Praise for Constable by the Stream

‘Stories of a constable on his village beat in North Yorkshire. All very gentle and far, far removed from the hurly burly of modern day city policing’ - Daily Telegraph

‘A fascinating insight into the life of a rural constable … the book makes splendid reading.’ - Police Journal

‘The colourful as much as the criminal side of life is his professional lot, and in a whole series of attractively written anecdotes he reveals how the waywardness which leads both young and old into awkward individualism, as well as into evil, keeps him busy.’ -
The Countryman

‘Rhea’s real strengths are his sharp portraits of people, and absorbing detail of a country copper practising his craft’ - Northern Echo

‘An account of the hilarious happenings to the county’s rural policemen over the years’ - Yorkshire Post

‘Filled with Yorkshire characters to make you laugh and cry … shows rural life through the eyes of a village bobby.’ - Whitby Gazette

‘Brings humour to everyday events in the manner of James Herriot.’ - Coventry Evening Telegraph

Nicholas Rhea, now retired, spent 30 years in the force, having started as a Police Cadet for the North Riding Constabulary. His best-known work, the Constable Series, provided the inspiration for the hugely popular TV series, Heartbeat and he remained involved with the series as a consultant until filming ended in 2009.

Nicholas Rhea is the pen-name of Peter N. Walker, formerly an inspector with the North Yorkshire Police, and the creator of the Constable series of books from which the Yorkshire TV series has been derived