M223: the Journey from a Tyneside Teenager to a Teesside Police Constable

Born and bred in the West End, Mark became a copper on Teesside.

From as early as he could remember, Mark Thornton wanted to be a bobby on the beat. He had watched a lot of TV in his childhood years of the 1970s, from Starsky and Hutch to Z-Cars, Dickson of Dock Green and Sweeney. His dream job was to put on a big hat and walk around, helping people and communities.

It was his mam who saw the news article advertising a force’s recruitment drive. In what seemed like only a matter of days he was part of that recruit selection and was soon told he was in: he was to become an officer of the law.