Tributes paid to former Lancashire police officer, Preston North End worker and Royal security officer

A former police officer, Preston North End worker and respected figure in Lancashire sadly passed away due to illness.

Robin Nigel Norman Webster (known as Nigel) was born on October 24, 1943 in Preston growing up on Malvern Avenue and Brackenbury Road.

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Nigel was seen as a prominent figure in the county serving in the Lancashire Constabulary for 30 years (1963-1993) and even reached the heights of Detective Superintendent when he retired. 

After he retired, he was involved with a number of football clubs, most notably at Preston North End, Morecambe and Bamber Bridge working in a variety of roles.

Mark Webster, Nigel’s son and one of his six children, said: “He had a meticulous attention to detail and always has resilience to keep going in whatever he was involved with.

“As a father he was absolutely fantastic, a real rock for the whole family who taught everybody the value of hard work which came out through his own career.

“You don’t hold the positions he had without hard work and his message was always ‘you don’t achieve things without putting the effort in.”

One of Nigel’s final roles summed up his entire career as he headed up the Lancashire Special Branch which involved the protection of VIPs such as Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, Princess Diana and prime ministers when they would visit Lancashire.

Another highlight of Nigel’s extraordinary life saw him tasked with delivering the genuine World Cup Trophy from the national football museum in Preston to Japan which brought together his expertise in security as well as his love of football.

On the other side of his involvement within Lancashire communities, Nigel would help coach junior football teams so his name was known far and wide across the county.

Mark said: “Can you think of any other person who has protected the Queen, the future King and transported the World Cup to the other side of the world?

“We hold him on a pedestal because of things like that really and his legacy is one of remarkable achievements.

“What Dad did, he always did it to the fullest; there were no half measures, including having a family of six children!”

Even in his final years, Nigel always wanted to stay busy and even held a role looking after security for a butchers chain called Gabbot’s Farm until the age of 78.

On his 80th birthday, Nigel was sadly diagnosed with liver cancer in October 2023 before passing away at home on July 8 2024.

Nigel’s first wife and Mark’s mother, Joan passed away in 2006 also from cancer and Nigel remarried in 2011 to a woman named Sue Mellor.

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He met both Sue and Joan whilst ballroom dancing which was a hobby he had from the age of 19 before revisiting it when Joan passed meaning he met the two women in his life whilst dancing the night away.

Nigel’s funeral will take place next week on Thursday 1st August 2024 at the St Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Preston.