After 9 years as an operational firefighter, I was medically discharged following an injury, and subsequent diagnosis of PTSD, meaning that I was no longer able to preform the duties I loved. As soon as I became non-operational, I was allocated an office based role as a Water Safety Officer. During this time, and given my extensive research on the subject, I became aware of gaps in the system between organisations.

After I left the Fire Service, I was asked if I'd ever considered the highly specialised role of Drowned Victim (DV) search dog handler. My experience, combined with my years as an operational Firefighter, seeing first hand the moments of a person entering the water, the desperate search, and finally the recovery of the body, I knew that when I left the Fire Service, I wanted to continue in this area of work. Reaffirming my hope that if more tragic lives cannot be saved in our waters, then I want to devote my efforts towards easing the pain and suffering of families of the deceased, by reuniting them with their loved ones.

Using my own finances, myself and Nessie- my Springer Spaniel- who at 15 months old, became one of the youngest dogs to qualify in this specialist field, trained as a team to NASDU Level 3 Victim -Water Submerged- Cadaver Detection Dog criteria. Following rigorous assessments, where DV Search dogs must learn to differentiate between hundreds of different scents related to decades of decomposition. We now support local Police Forces and Lowland Rescue teams working around England, volunteering my time to help others.

www.DrownedVictimSearchTeam.com