Fire fighter Paul Burnett is to combine his duties with the role of curate in a parish church.

Paul will continue to work as a fire fighter in Whitby in North Yorkshire during his curacy in the Parish of Whitby.

He first began to make sense of his faith and felt called to service of some kind in Christ after becoming a Christian at the age of 15.

"I spent the next 20 years arguing with God and finding legitimate reasons not to follow my calling; I realised that this is God's time and he wasn't going to let me go,” he said.

Paul joined the Royal Navy at 21 where he was under the charge of Chaplain the Revd Mike Brotherton, who was pivotal in his vocation.

“The Armed Forces have a really great tradition when it comes to faith and the work of the chaplains is just amazing. Revd Mike Brotherton’s influence stayed with me all the way through the journey,” he added.

Paul moved to work for the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2000.

He trained for ordination with St Hild College from 2018 and was ordained as Deacon in York Minster.

"My journey to ordination has been a long one, but God has walked with me all the way,” he said.