A former policewoman 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 Kent policewoman in 1977.

A knee injury forced her to retire 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 16-year Christian faith by training to be a priest at Cranmer Hall, St John's College, in Durham.

After completing the two-year course, which she began last September, Ms Thomas will be ordained as first 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."