A POLICE officer who swapped his North-East beat for the heat and danger of post-war Iraq is finding it a life changing experience.

PC Kevin Woodcock's last job in Bishop Auckland police station, County Durham, was behind a desk as part of a communications team.

Since June, he has been based thousands of miles away near Basra on a year-long United Nations mission to train thousands of recruits to the Iraq police force.

For Iraqis experiencing democracy for the first time, there is a huge leap to be made.

Some tell horrific stories of the old regime and are pleased to embrace the change.

PC Woodcock said: "Once they trust you, they open up and start to talk.

"It must have been dreadful, but they are happy that we are there now and don't want us to leave."

He lives in a camp under the protection of the Royal Anglian regiment and is heavily guarded on the rare occasions he steps outside.

He said: "There are some historic sites nearby, such as the remains of Babylon and Abraham's birthplace. Lawrence of Arabia's camp is the next one along from ours, which is World War II RAF base.

"But everything is laid to waste. There is just desert and the wrecks of abandoned tanks and different vehicles.

"Some of the living conditions are terrible, yet there is a Pizza Hut 20 minutes away and a Burger King at the Korean border. It is bizarre."

PC Woodcock arrived back in Iraq yesterday after two weeks on leave at home in County Durham with his wife, Sue, and three children, Rebecca, 14, Callum, 12, and Connor, nine.

He said: "I am sorry to leave the family but I am enjoying every minute of what I do.

"It really is a life-changing experience. It is something I will look back on in years to come and be pleased to have left my mark."