Essex milk enthusiast Paul Luke collects 20,000 bottles at home

The 46-year-old, who once edited the Milk Bottle News website, even believed low-level crime had worsened due to fewer people delivering milk on the streets.

“There was less crime back when I was younger because every road you went down, there was a milkman loitering,” he explained.

Mr Luke also said he had recently relaunched his own glass bottle delivery company, offering milkshakes, smoothies and juices inside.

He added that 50 customers had signed up across south Essex and he would undertake deliveries on his days off from working at a dairy farm.

“It will be really old school. Where possible, I’ll be driving my old milk float,” Mr Luke said.

“It will be great to be back out on the streets again, watching out for the community and making sure nothing untoward is happening in the early hours.”