Having spent 33 years delivering milk to the people of Gravesham, you’d be forgiven for thinking Jon Pratt was a one trick pony.

Well, you’d be mistaken.

Jon, 58, is not just one of the area’s most experienced milkmen, he might also be able to stake a claim to being one of its most talented amateur photographers.

His keen eye for the perfect shot earned him second place in a national photography competition for a picture of... his milk float.

“Anyone who knows me knows that I’ve always got my camera handy, so I’m glad all my efforts have paid off,” he said.

“I love being a milkman and seeing the great outdoors, so this was a really great opportunity for me.”

Jon’s photo of his float alongside some brilliant autumnal trees was taken in Cobham, one of several parishes he has visited on his round during his career.

While some may aspire to be in sport or the arts, delivering milk represents Jon’s dream job.

“I love it even though I am getting a bit older and creaky in places,” he said.

It comes as no surprise that Jon might be feeling some degree of strain — he has been getting up to deliver at what he describes as “disgusting times in the morning” since 1983.

An average day begins at midnight. By 1am Jon has already left the house.

He makes his way to the milk&more depot at Erith to pick up the goods and is back in Gravesend to start his round at around 3am.

I only joined in at 6am, and even that was struggle, with Jon admitting that the unusual sleep pattern does require a few sacrifices.

“The sleep pattern is not very good at the moment — it can be a little bit erratic,” he said.

“If you talk to any ex-milkman, they will all say the same thing — best job they ever had, but glad they retired because now they have a social life!”

Family time can also be at a premium for someone who operates at night and – bar a brief rise for dinner – sleeps during the day.

He lives in Old Road East, Gravesend, with wife Jean and his two children. Elizabeth, 20, works at the nearby Cyclopark, while Joseph, 15, is also a keen photographer.

Much like his choice of career, Jon’s family life all fell into place rather quickly.

Jon spent some of his childhood doing egg rounds, before moving into window dressing in London’s West End.

He returned to delivering nine years later after an impromptu suggestion one Christmas.

“I always remembered how much I used to enjoy the egg round,” recalled Jon.

“Within three months I got a job, got married and got a house — it all fell into place!”

“One Christmas Eve we were at a friend’s house, and it must have been about 8.45pm when her husband got back from a milk round.

“He was covered in snow and said — ‘do you fancy this job?’ I just said, ‘actually, I do!’ He got me an interview and it went from there.

“Within three months I got a job, got married and got a house — it all fell into place!”

Of course, while Jon’s route through some of the borough’s most scenic locales hasn’t changed, plenty else about the job has.

“We are losing our old age pensioners – I have been to about nine funerals in the last year,” he said.

“A lot of my older customers are dying off and a lot of the new ones are internet customers.

“You don’t have the time now to see and look after the customers like you used to.”

“It’s a different delivery to what it was when I started.

“I have got a very old customer, a very good friend, who I haven’t seen in about eight or nine years.

“You don’t have the time now to see and look after the customers like you used to.”

Despite that, it’s still apparent from joining Jon on his round that there is plenty of gratitude for what milkmen do.

Customers still stop for a chat, even if the days of popping in for a hot drink are mostly over.

“You got to know people doing this job, so you could always get invited for a cup of tea or coffee somewhere,” remembers Jon.

“Customers got so familiar with the milkman that it was like I was another member of the family.”

“I had a nice customer at the end of the round with an indoor swimming pool and a games room, so I used to go for a swim and play pool with her son before the rest of my round!

“Customers got so familiar with the milkman that it was like I was another member of the family.”

It is easy to tell that Jon misses his relationships with his customers and he also misses his old three-wheel float.

Although the delivery round no longer proves to be as social an experience as it once was, Jon’s passion for photography has given him another reason to get outdoors.

Some of Jon’s most impressive images have been taken on his round, others have come about from his countryside walks, mountain treks and get-togethers.

He regularly sets up photo booths at parties, which he hopes will earn him some extra cash when he retires.

“There was a DJ that used to be on in the morning and he said it was ‘the best time in the day show’, and he was right!”

Not that he’s ever fancied it as a career.

He said: “I want to do it as a hobby to earn me a little bit of money when I retire and to keep me busy.

“There is life after work — I’m sure of it!”

Jon also hopes to spend more time at photography exhibitions, admiring and learning from the work of others.

For now, though, milk is king.

“I do still like being outdoors when it’s quiet and there’s nobody else about,” he said of his early starts.

“There was a DJ that used to be on in the morning and he said it was ‘the best time in the day show’, and he was right!”

When you’re able to see the sun rise over Gravesham’s beautiful countryside each morning, surrounded by peace and quiet, it’s difficult to argue.