She spent a year working in New Scotland Yard’s serious crimes unit, but Caroline Higgins’ love of Radio Four show The Archers has inspired her to start a new career – as a parish council clerk.
Caroline, from Meole Brace, has taken over as clerk of Great Hanwood Parish Council and is already getting stuck into village issues such as preserving the local school and keeping the village tidy.
It’s a major shift for the mother-of-two, who spent four years with the Metropolitan Police – including a year in an administrative role with the serious crimes unit at New Scotland Yard.
But it was listening to the long-running BBC radio show that convinced her to move into local politics.
She said: “I listen to the Archers regularly and Bert Fry, one of the characters, became a parish council clerk and it seemed really interesting to me.
“I spent a few weeks looking around before the Hanwood vacancy came up, which is right on my doorstep.”