“For example, I was listening to the radio in the cab one day and Michael Portillo said in an interview about not ‘sweating the peasants’ of gold-producing countries. I thought that was a great phrase, jotted it down, and built a poem around it.”

One of Derek’s customers, Amanda Galbraith of the new Allendale Forge Studios, has been so taken by Derek’s poetry that she’s taken a stock of his books to sell in her shop. It is also on sale at his local newsagents in Stocksfield.

“Derek came in one day and said ‘can I show you something?’,” said Amanda. “And he brought this book in.

“I flicked through it and said ‘this is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever seen’.

“Derek’s a lovely bloke, too, so polite, and his books are selling really well.”

Derek added: “I sell the book myself from the cab. I’m really surprised, to be honest, but pleased. If it doesn’t sound conceited, poets tend to be philosophers and think about life. A lot of the book is deep-thinking.

“I’ve always had this poetry thing in me since I was a child but when I was young a teacher looked at one of my poems and said ‘you couldn’t have written this’.

“That put me off for a very long time, and I sort of stepped back from it. “

By the Way is available from Derek at £8.50, plus 95p postage via derekasim @hotmail.com