For decades he upheld law and order in Britain, taking criminals to task if they stepped out of line.

However, a retired Met Police detective has revealed his embarrassment over his own indiscretion – having a library book that is now more than 40 years overdue.

Shamefaced Steve McQueenie, 57, was just a teenager when Zane Grey’s book – Tales From a Fisherman’s Log – caught his eye on the shelves of Milngavie Library, near Glasgow.

The adventure-hungry youngster took the book out to revel in the exploits of its author as he detailed his journey travelling round New Zealand in the hunt for the country’s biggest fish.

He had been due to return the book by April 17, 1983, but completely forgot about it and didn’t rediscover the book until several years later – at which point he had moved to London.

Yesterday, almost 42 years later, he joked about his long-held regret and vowed to return the book to his hometown library when he is next in Scotland.

He also said that despite having had the book for decades he had never actually finished it.

Mr McQueenie said: ‘The book only ever surfaces when we are moving house or tidying up and I realise I’ve still got it. It’s been around me my whole adult life.

Steve McQueenie was just a teenager when he checked ‘Tales From a Fisherman’s Log’ from Milngavie Library. 

The former detective had been due to return the book to Milngavie Library by April 17, 1983, but completely forgot about it.

‘I never intended to hold on to it for that long. I even wrote to Milngavie Library at one point telling them I had it, but I didn’t get a response.’

He jokingly added: ‘The pangs of guilt have hounded me all these years. I dug it out the other day and asked my wife “How long do you think this book is overdue?”

‘When I told her how long I had it she just shook her head.’

Mr McQueenie moved from Scotland to Australia for a time, returning in 1990 but quickly moved to London where he joined the Met Police in 1993.

It was only after his move to England that the book resurfaced amid his belongings.

His light-hearted confession came after he called in to discuss the situation with presenter Jon Richardson, during his Saturday morning show on Absolute Radio.

Mr McQueenie, who lives in Surrey with his wife Nicola, joked: Over the years it’s popped up now and again. I’ve likened it to the barrels attached to the shark in Jaws. It just pops up unexpectedly to scare me.’

He added: ‘I don’t think I’ve even finished it. If I read three pages every year I would have finished it by now.’

Despite having had the book for decades Mr McQueenie has never actually finished it.

He also joked that he could have inhaled helium before appearing on the show to disguise his identity and thus evade the authorities.

Mr McQueenie also said he worried his life might imitate the iconic Yellow Pages advert that sees fictional author J.R. Hartley try and track down the last remaining copy of his book.

He said: ‘There’s a picture of the author Zane Grey on the front cover and he’s an old man sitting writing his log book.

‘I suddenly thought back to the advert from the 1980s of J.R. Hartley and his book on fly fishing.

‘I thought “I really hope Zane Grey didn’t spend the last few years of his life scouring the planet for a copy of his book when I had it.’

Thankfully for Mr McQueenie, East Dunbartonshire Council, which operates the library no longer imposes fines for overdue books.

Meanwhile, many other councils in the UK have held periods of amnesty during which people with long-overdue books – even by many years – could return them without incurring a fine or penalty.

Mr McQueenie told Mr Richardson: ‘There was almost an amnesty reached with people who had overborrowed. I think I’m in the clear.’

He added: ‘The next time I go up [to Scotland] I will take it in and just see what they say. I think it would be quite nice to return it.’

A spokesperson for East Dunbartonshire Leisure and Culture Trust – which operates Milngavie Library – said: ‘It may have taken more than four decades, but we thank the gentleman for his honesty and look forward to welcoming him back to Milngavie Library – a place where hopefully he spent many happy hours.

‘While we always encourage library members to return their books on time, the gentleman can rest assured that he won’t face a fine on this occasion. As Zane Grey may have written, he’s off the hook.’