A FORMER seafaring probation officer has bowed out of the service after 20 years.

Friends and colleagues from Teesside Probation Service bade farewell to Jim Wheatley at the service's headquarters, on Middlesbrough's Longlands Road.

They presented him with a camera for his dedicated work dealing with offenders in South Bank, Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar.

He also pioneered group work courses at Holme House Prison, Stockton.

Mr Wheatley spent eight years as a navigation officer with a shipping company in the Far East, followed by a spell in the Antarctic, prior to becoming a probationer.

His varied experience also includes washing dishes and sorting mail, as well as spending three years as an Inspector of Social Services.

He said: "When I left the sea, I couldn't find a job related to my experience. I saw the advert for the probation service and thought it would do until I found a 'proper' job.

"I soon found there was more to probation than that.

"The most important thing I take away with me is the experience of meeting men years on after being supervised to find their memories of the probation service stood out as ones where they were treated properly and with respect."

Roger Statham, Teesside's chief probation officer, paid tribute to Mr Wheatley's commitment in a speech at the gathering.