With ancestors including the artist Turner and poet Shelley, it's no surprise Peter Turner has always been more than just a school caretaker.

Peter inherited creative traits from both family lines, developing a flair for drawing and poetry.

But these only scrape the surface of activities the 65-year-old has been involved with during 27 years at Stanford Infants School in Brighton, from where he retires today.

Peter has filmed the school's major events in recent years, worked as a hospital radio DJ, a lollipop man and youth worker.

He also finds time to perform magic tricks and go clubbing regularly in the evenings.

He said: "I have a very active life. I have probably pushed myself too far but I enjoy life."

Peter said he was a familiar face on the Brighton clubbing scene, where he is known as Michael Jackson, and he hoped to head out to West Street more often after his retirement.

It is all a far cry from 19th Century England and Italy where Percy Bysshe Shelley and Joseph Mallord William Turner lived and worked.

Peter's mother, a lady-in-waiting to one of the archaeologists who discovered Tutankhamen's tomb, was a descendant of the Shelley bloodline and his father was from the JMW Turner lineage Peter only discovered his ancestry late in life through a great aunt in Worthing.

He said: "With more time on my hands, I will be able to look more into the family history."

Peter revealed he would also be able to immerse himself more in his hobbies.

He said: "I have not done a lot of drawing recently. I am more into using my video camera to record seascapes and landscapes. I am intending to do more drawing when I have retired.

"I have had some poems published. I wrote one about Sarah Payne, called No Flower's Fairer, which was published."

He said he would also have more time to listen to his music collection.

It took five van trips to shift his vinyl records from the caretaker's house he is vacating.

Head teacher Karen Wicker said Peter would be missed greatly by the school.

She said: "Peter has been here for 27 years and was appointed before the school was finished being built. He is the only caretaker the school has had.

"He is far more than a caretaker, he has been a recorder of events. Although he is retiring, he has already said he is going to be videoing the PTFA panto and he wants to come back to record other events in the future."