A FORMER police officer has told how he guarded the trophy during England’s famous World Cup victory.

Despite being at Wembley for the national squad’s 4-2 victory over West Germany, Bernard Tighe could only see the match on television.

Mr Tighe, now 81, has told his story in 66 On 66, a book recounting the stories of 66 people who were at the historic match half a century ago this July.

He told author Matt Eastley how he had been called into his superior’s office two days before the final and told he had a top secret mission. He was given a choice of colleague and picked fellow detective Bob Geggie.

He said: “So, on the morning of the World Cup Final, Bob and I were taken to Wembley stadium and told, amid great secrecy, that our job during the match was to guard the World Cup – the Jules Rimet itself.”

The Football Association was taking no chances after the cup was stolen from a stamp exhibition that March and was sniffed out a week later by a dog called Pickles.

Mr Tighe said: “Instead of being escorted to the royal box area, we were taken to a somewhat gloomy ante room underneath it and we were locked in there. We had a television set in there and were looked after extremely well by the authorities.”

After Geoff Hurst’s final goal went in, an official from the FA walked in and attached the winners’ ribbons to the trophy.

Mr Tighe added: “It was then my role to take the trophy up to the royal box.

“My wife saw me on television hovering at the edge of the royal box waiting to hand it over to an FA official.

“Even after Bobby Moore had received the trophy from the Queen, we still had to guard it. So our next role was to follow the English players around the pitch when they went on their lap of honour.”

Mr Tighe can be seen on footage of the day, waiting beside the royal box and, fleetingly, running around the pitch after the team.

He was later promoted to detective sergeant and joined the company fraud squad and later the serious crime squad. He retired in the mid-1980s and became a private investigator, working mainly on fraud.

He said of guarding the cup: "It was an unusual task but I've done things subsequently which I would consider far more interesting. I look back on it as a day’s work to be honest.”