A FORMER police officer and funeral arranger has finally found her vocation by training as a priest.

Kim Thomas, a 44-year-old grandmother from Shropshire, began her working life as a police officer, in Kent, in 1977.

A knee injury forced her to retire from the police force in 1990 and, after a period of convalescence, she took up employment as a funeral arranger for the Midlands Co-op.

Now, she has decided to make a career out of her Christian faith by training to be a priest at Cranmer Hall, St John's College, in Durham City.

After completing the two-year course, which she began in September, Ms Thomas will be ordained as a deacon then a priest in the Church of England.

She said there was a common thread running through her diverse jobs.

"All the jobs I've done and the vocation I'm following have the same thread - and that's people," she said.

"I really genuinely love people, and one of the most satisfying things about arranging funerals was treating someone as I would have wanted someone in my family to be treated.

"I've been a Christian for about 16 years, and in that time it's just developed. It's very much a calling.

"Going back to college has been hard, but people have been very encouraging."